3 govs, 2 mayors tell Arroyo: Focus on poverty
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:46:00 08/19/2008
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Five local government officials belonging to a group advocating good governance called on President Macapagal-Arroyo to focus on measures to ease poverty instead of amending the 1987 Constitution.
Governors Eddie Panlilio (Pampanga), Maria Gracia Cielo Padaca (Isabela) and Teodoro Baguilat Jr. (Ifugao) and Mayors Jesse Robredo (Naga City) and Sonia Lorenzo (San Isidro, Nueva Ecija) made the appeal in an open letter as founding members of the Kaya Natin!, a movement espousing genuine change and ethical leadership in government.
Youth leaders Cristyl Senajon, Karla Pastores and Harvey Keh, director for youth leadership and social entrepreneurship of the Ateneo de Manila University School of Government, signed the letter.
They said they were opposing Charter change (Cha-cha) before the 2010 national elections because doing this would “only serve to promote the self-interests of a few of our political leaders who are bent on staying in power and extending their present terms.”
“We believe that the 2010 national elections should continue as scheduled because postponing it will deprive the Filipino people of its mandated right to choose the right leaders that it can trust,” they added.
Instead of pursuing amendments to the Constitution, national leaders and legislators, they said, should “open their eyes to the plight of the millions of Filipino families who are living in poverty.”
They urged colleagues in local governments to “listen to the true voices of our constituents and join us in opposing any attempts to amend the Constitution before the 2010 national elections.”
Interviewed in Baguio City on Friday, Panlilio said the country does not need Charter change.
“I’m against the Cha-cha. We don’t need Cha-cha for good governance. We need upright people. The new Cha-cha drive just seeks to perpetuate some people in power,” he said.
Panlilio said he would meet with civil society groups in Pampanga and get their sentiments about Charter change.
“Most of the people who I talked with said they do not agree with [plans to amend] the Constitution,” he said.
Panlilio, who was guest at a meeting of the Rotary Club of Baguio on Friday, said he was against Charter change because it would sustain patronage politics.
“I believe that the people who want Cha-cha are the people who want to stay in power,” he said.
He said members of Kaya Natin! would conduct campus tours to promote good governance in the country. He said the group has received invitations from various colleges and universities in Metro Manila and the provinces.
“We always discuss the best practices in local governance and we believe in leadership by example and transparency. We are here to fight jueteng, corruption, patronage politics and ecological destruction,” Panlilio said.
Baguilat, in a text message sent to the Inquirer, said moves to amend the Constitution “will further inflame the divisions” in the country.
“We need to unify society so we could tackle more important issues such as increased poverty and hunger. Cha-cha is going to just exhaust our energies and resources,” he said.
In Bulacan, Gov. Joselito Mendoza said he would support the move to amend the Constitution, citing the strong need for autonomy among local governments that would be offered by a federal form of government. Reports from Tonette Orejas and Carmela Reyes, Inquirer Central Luzon, and Desiree Caluza, Maurice Malanes and Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon
|
