People’s initiative gains new advocate

President Arroyo’s erstwhile anti-jueteng czar Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn expressed support yesterday for the people’s initiative mode as a vehicle for Cha-cha or Charter change.

The campaign, which involves gathering the signatures of 12 percent of all registered voters nationwide, seeks to break the stalemate between the House of Representatives and the Senate over whether to convene Congress into a constituent assembly to propose changes in the Constitution.

"Charter change through people’s initiative is the only option left to break the deadlock between senators and congressmen over the constituent assembly," Hagedorn told the weekly Kapihan sa Sulo Hotel forum in Quezon City.

Hagedorn, who is also the chairman of the League of Cities of the Philippines, said he would be an active participant in the nationwide campaign to inform the people on the urgent need to amend the Charter in order to address the political and economic crises facing the country.

He said the Constitution’s defects, particularly provisions limiting the number of terms an elective official can consecutively serve, breed corruption and promote political dynasties.

Hagedorn said elected local and national leaders cannot pursue their respective programs since their attention is focused on choosing which family member can take over as soon as they serve their last consecutive term in office.

Because of the term limit, the people have no choice but to vote for other candidates or these elective officials’ family members, many of whom turn out to be incompetent as local executives, he said.

"The result of the term limit is election of housewives and sons who are not prepared to assume public office," Hagedorn said.

He said the plan by pro-administration congressmen to convene the House and Senate into a constituent assembly is no longer viable at this time because of the deadlock between the two chambers.

Hagedorn said a second mode of Charter change — that of holding a constitutional convention — is too costly. He also said that with various threats to the Arroyo administration, events could overtake the process of electing delegates and holding the convention itself.

"The third and the only option left is the peoples’ initiative," he said.

When asked about the legal impediments to the people’s initiative, Hagedorn said he is willing to face any legal challenges that may arise from their political action to amend the Charter.

Hagedorn said he will join 10,000 local officials from all over the country on Feb. 10 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila for the launching of the signature campaign.

Earlier, local government leaders in Mindanao vowed to gather twice as many signatures compared to the target number to prove their unity and capability to support Charter change.

Local officials, led by North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Piñol, said their initiative will show a peaceful and orderly method of securing change in the government through the direct participation of the people.

Piñol, president of the confederation of Mindanao governors, city mayors and municipal mayors, said Mindanao leaders prefer the people’s initiative mode since the amendments would come from the people themselves.

"Mindanaoans are in favor of changing the form of government from presidential bicameral to a unicameral parliament," Piñol said.

He pointed out that "the prolonged political crisis has wrought more economic damage to Mindanao because it is geographically too far out from the center. The time has come for Filipinos to recognize that Mindanao also has a say in the affairs of government."

Piñol said Mindanao leaders overwhelmingly agreed to obtain the biggest number of signatures from registered voters in the region. Mindanao has 26 provinces, 27 cities and 359 municipalities with 12 million registered voters.

"The people’s initiative empowers Mindanaoans with the democratic right to amend the Constitution in the most peaceful manner," he said.

In another development, Hagedorn said the revival by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) of small-town lottery or STL would "eventually eradicate jueteng operations in Luzon" and the rest of the country.

He said this type of lottery, which will soon be launched by the PCSO, involves drawing two winning numbers from one to 40 — an improvement over the illegal numbers game jueteng, which only uses numbers from one to 37.

Hagedorn said the PCSO has already introduced the "EZ 2" game, wherein a player can choose a two-number combination from 1 to 31.

He said he recommended the revival of the STL to give livelihood opportunities to more than 200,000 people displaced by the government crackdown on jueteng.

Hagedorn pointed out that gambling has already become part of Filipino culture, and with the introduction of STL, the public would be assured that the money they spend would go to charity, not to the pockets of corrupt police and local officials.

He said jueteng operations continue to thrive in the provinces of Camarines and Quezon, while there are no more jueteng operations in the Ilocos region.