Nograles offers dialogue with Velarde
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 16:58:00 12/03/2008
Filed Under: Constitution, Charter change, Politics, Congress, Conflicts (general)
MANILA, Philippines -- Saying that the warning raised by El Shaddai leader Mike Velarde against amending the 1987 Constitution at this time should not be ignored, Speaker Prospero Nograles has opened doors for a dialogue with the spiritual leader.
"I know and respect Brother Mike. It is a warning that Congress leaders should not take very lightly. But everything that may have been misunderstood can certainly be ironed out through an honest to goodness exchange of ideas on Charter change and a dialogue with Brother Mike," he said in a text message.
Velarde, who also serves as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's spiritual adviser, has threatened to lead a million-strong street protest against initiatives to amend the Constitution. He aired his warning against moves by some congressmen in the House of Representatives to amend the Charter and in the process extend the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and other officials beyond 2010.
But even as the religious leader opposes Charter change, his son, Buhay partylist Representative Rene Velarde, is an author of a resolution calling for one.
House Resolution 858 "calling for a constitutional convention to propose amendments to, or revision of, the Constitution of the Philippines" is one of the measures being tackled by the committee on constitutional amendments at the House.
But Velarde’s son said his resolution was strictly confined to the election of delegated to the constitutional convention simultaneous with the 2010 polls. He said it did not talk of term extension or of amendments of specific provisions of the Constitution.
In calling for a dialogue, Nograles said he believed that Velarde would "listen to good reason and logic." He also vowed open and transparent proceedings at the House when it would tackle Charter change.
In a news forum, Quezon City Matias Defensor said Congress should now convene into a constituent assembly and amend the Charter so that changes could be implemented in the 2010 elections.
Contrary to reports that the people are against Charter change, Defensor said that the public was in fact clamoring for it.
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