Cha-cha bad for RP — solon

The renewed Cha-cha (Charter change) initiative of a few congressmen will be bad for the economy, Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar said yesterday.

Villar said if it pushes through, the proposed revision of the Constitution will divide the people and possibly the national leadership, which could lose its focus on issues that it should promptly confront, including economic reforms.

"I am not against Cha-cha per se, but I think this is not the time to revive an initiative that in the past had failed because of fears that it would hurt the economy. It was bad for the economy in the previous administrations. It think that it still is," she said.

She said Congress and the whole nation, instead of wasting its time on Cha-cha, should concentrate on pushing the economy forward so it can gather more growth momentum.

Villar belongs to a family of businessmen. She and husband Sen. Manny Villar control Camella and Palmera Homes, one of the biggest builders of low-cost housing units in the country.

The Las Piñas solon said the modest economic growth that has been felt in many sectors, including housing, could vanish if the nation is immersed in Cha-cha.

Villar was the second House member to warn Cha-cha proponents about the adverse effects on the economy of their initiative.

Early last week, Rep. Oscar Moreno (Lakas, Misamis Oriental) said the move to amend the Constitution could derail the country’s economic growth.

Moreno said the recent positive ratings the nation earned from international agencies, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), show that the country is on the road to recovery.

"This recovery will be derailed by Cha-cha because Cha-cha will divide our leaders and our people," he said.

He said ADB and other international agencies rated the country positively because its leaders are on the right path, giving priority to reforms, reducing graft and corruption and promoting transparency.

The Lakas solon, a former banker and a member of the House panel that prosecuted ousted President Joseph Estrada in his aborted Senate impeachment trial, expressed elation over ADB’s projection that the nation’s economic expansion or about four percent this year would be the highest in all of Asia.

"We should be attaining this despite the alleged deficiencies of the present Constitution and the existing political structures," said Moreno.

He said if the nation’s leaders focused more on good governance, transparency, fighting corruption, and instituting reforms, a higher growth that would ease the poverty of the people and promote development would be achievable.

He noted that the highest growth figures were attained during the Ramos years before then President Ramos advocated Cha-cha.