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32 House members mount anti-Cha-cha campaign
By Jess Diaz And Marvin Sy
The Philippine Star 07/29/2005

Thirty-two House members launched a campaign yesterday to block President Arroyo’s renewed Cha-cha (Charter change) initiative.

But another group of congressmen, mostly from Mindanao and Visayas, launched what they called the Movement for a Federal Philippines (MFP).

Senators also called on the government yesterday to stop pushing for Charter change at this time and focus its attention on the economy and the upcoming barangay polls.

Sen. Manuel Roxas II expressed concern that if Malacañang insists on prioritizing Charter change, the progress the government has made in getting the economy back on track could be derailed.

In her State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday, the President said she is pushing for amendments to the Constitution to pave the way for a parliamentary form of government.

The 32 congressmen, led by Satur Ocampo of the militant party-list group Bayan Muna, filed a resolution in the House declaring that Cha-cha at this time of political crisis "is neither necessary nor beneficial to the country and may only complicate and worsen the current political situation."

They said Cha-cha is intended "to buy time for the President, distract Congress from the impeachment process and provide Mrs. Arroyo with a graceful exit from the political crisis."

"It is important to settle the issue of the President’s resignation or impeachment first in order for any Charter change proposal to be credible, meaningful and effective," they said.

They added that besides the impeachment process, the time and effort of lawmakers could better be spent on addressing urgent national concerns such as poverty, joblessness and the ballooning debt.

Besides Ocampo, 11 of the 32 authors of the resolution are party-list representatives, while the remaining 20 are House members elected from congressional districts.

Twenty-five of the authors are signatories of the amended impeachment complaint against Mrs. Arroyo.

Ten congressmen led by Juan Miguel Zubiri of Bukidnon, joined by former University of the Philippines president Jose Abueva and Dean Amado Valdez of the University of the East College of Law initiated the MFP.

Zubiri said federalism could be the key to the economic progress and political stability of many of the country’s regions.

"Mindanaons will no longer consent, nor stand idly by and do nothing, as imperial Manila continues to dictate upon us the fate and destiny of our President and in matters affecting the fiscal autonomy of all provinces," he said.

He said they would vigorously campaign for amending the Constitution to bring about a federal form of government.

Other allies of the President batted for more enlightened Cha-cha debates focusing on issues rather than on the embattled Arroyo presidency.

In a joint statement, Representatives Exequiel Javier of Antique and Jesli Lapus of Tarlac lamented that proposals to amend the Charter had already been linked to the President’s political survival or the expected political comeback of former President Fidel Ramos.

They said Charter change should be dissociated from political personalities "since at stake here is the nation’s future and not the survival of any particular political leader."

They said it is important that Cha-cha proponents should inform the people of the real issues so the constitutional amendment initiative won’t be tied to the raging political crisis. Other Priorities
Credit rating agencies initially gave positive marks to the Philippine economy after the enactment of the expanded value-added tax law but have remained cautious because of the political crisis Mrs. Arroyo is facing. The EVAT law remained suspended until the Supreme Court issues a ruling on its constitutionality.

"In 2004, the country suffered an economic downturn until Congress passed the tax reform measures to rescue the ailing economy. We were on the road to recovery then with the credit rating agencies already signaling a positive outlook for the country," Roxas said.

He said the Arroyo administration should prioritize the 2006 national budget, which is set for deliberation in Congress next month, so the legislature can adopt fiscal measures that respond to the needs of the people.

"The budget for the year 2004 was reenacted due to lack of time for Senate to pass a new one. Last year, the Senate passed the budget in January since the House (of Representatives) was delayed in submitting it to the Senate," Roxas said.

He pointed out that there are indicators that reveal a correlation between a political crisis and the economy.

A former trade secretary, Roxas said the prices of canned goods are expected to go up by 15 to 25 centavos due to the increase in price of tin in the world market.

The price of processed milk has also increased by P1, flour by P10 and cement by P3. The peso has fallen to P56 to $1 and the benchmark 91-day T-bill rate climbed to 5.63 percent from 5.452 percent last Tuesday.

Roxas said the government pays an additional P6.2 billion in interest for every one-percent hike in the interest rates.

"The economic indicators should warn the present administration that the economy is being adversely affected by the political rumblings," he said.

In order to show that the administration is focused on meeting its economic goals as stated during Mrs. Arroyo’s SONA, Roxas called on the President’s newly appointed economic managers to exercise fiscal discipline and to present a clear-cut definition and execution of economic programs.

Senate President Franklin Drilon also highlighted the importance of a new budget for the next fiscal year so that new projects could be financed.

Although admitting that a reenacted budget could take place again because of the looming possibility of an impeachment trial for Mrs. Arroyo, Drilon said that it is always preferable to have a new budget.

"Although it has happened in the past that budgets were reenacted, I don’t think it will do us any good to follow that practice of having reenacted budgets," he said.

Drilon pointed out that a reenacted budget would "provide leeway to the government insofar as its expenditures are concerned."

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has proposed a working budget of P1 trillion for 2006 and the President is expected to submit this to Congress within 30 days.

On the other hand, Sen. Richard Gordon said the government should immediately address the issue of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.

He said a law deferring the barangay and SK elections should be passed right away since the national government does not have the funds needed for this purpose.

With the barangay and SK polls scheduled for Oct. 31, Gordon said both the Commission on Elections and the DBM admitted they do not have the funds to conduct the electoral exercise because the 2005 budget has no allocation for this.

"In spite of the uncertain political climate right now, government should not be put on hold. We in the legislature still have important pieces of legislation to pass," he said.

Gordon pointed out that the law provides for the hold-over of the incumbent barangay and SK officials until the next elections so there would be no disruption in the delivery of basic services. pirate