GMA urged to invite all political leaders to Council of State meeting

Two congressmen urged President Arroyo yesterday to invite leaders of all major political groups to the Council of State meeting that she has called for Jan. 24.

In making the appeal, Representatives Mauricio Domogan of Baguio City and Federico Sandoval II of Malabon-Navotas said the meeting would be an effective tool of confidence- and consensus-building, if those who attend it represent as wide a sector of the population as possible.

"It would be laudable to expand the council meeting by inviting heads of all political parties since the objective is to forge greater national unity and solidarity, and teamwork among political leaders and the people," they said.

According to Presidential Political Adviser Gabriel Claudio, the President is convening the Council of State and the ruling Lakas separately upon the suggestion of former President Ramos.

Claudio said the principal agenda for the meetings is the administration’s Cha-cha (Charter change) initiative, which has divided the nation. Also in the agenda is the proposal of the presidential consultative commission (con-com) on Cha-cha to scrap the May 2007 elections and to extend the terms of office of members of Congress and local officials by three years to June 30, 2010.

Mrs. Arroyo has set the ruling Lakas meeting for next Saturday, 10 days before she convenes the Council of State.

Claudio announced the meetings in the wake of speculations that Ramos was forging an alliance with the opposition.

Former President Corazon Aquino and ousted President Joseph Estrada have been invited to the Council of State meeting, along with leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Mrs. Aquino, who has stuck to her call for Mrs. Arroyo to make the "supreme sacrifice" by stepping down, has not indicated whether or not she would accept the invitation. As for Estrada, he said he would attend if he would be the one — not Mrs. Arroyo — allowed to preside over the council.

For Rep. Mujiv Hataman of the party-list group Anak Mindanao, the Lakas and Council of State meetings that Ramos proposed could be a way out of the predicament that the former president has created for himself.

"Mr. Ramos has not repeated his call for Mrs. Arroyo to step down in May this year so the nation could hold parliamentary elections in June and shift to full parliamentary system in July. If Lakas decides that the shift would take place in 2010 after Mrs. Arroyo’s term expires, he can always say he has to abide by the decision of his party," Hataman said.

He said Ramos could also accept the proposed no-el (no elections in 2007) and term extension scenarios by saying that Lakas and Mrs. Arroyo had endorsed it.

The former president, however, has criticized the proposal as a "monumental blunder" and said it was against democratic tradition. — Jess Diaz