Time to end destabilization activities, says ex-con-com member

Destabilization activities in Metro Manila must end to give people in the countryside a say in running the affairs of government, a former member of the presidential consultative commission (con-com) on Charter change said yesterday.

"Inaatake ngayon ang pamahalaan ng lahat ng uri ng uod (The government is being attacked by all kinds of worms)," former Con-com commissioner Raul Lambino said.

"May kulay pula, may kulay yellow at may black and white pa. Gusto nilang pabagsakin ang pamahalaan upang sila naman ang magkapoder pero wala silang kongkretong alternatibo para sa kapakanan ng mga tao (There is a color red, there is a color yellow, and there is also a black and white. They want to oust the government so they will have power, but they have no concrete alternative for the people’s welfare)."

In a statement, Lambino, now chairman of the Charter Change Advocacy Commission’s committee on form and government structure, said people must plant a "new tree" by finding out the type of seed to grow and develop into a new Constitution.

"Kayo mismo ang may hawak ng karapatan kung anong klaseng buto ng punong kahoy ang itatanim (You yourself hold the right of what kind of seedling to plant)," he said. "Ito ang magiging bagong Saligang Batas na inyong didiligin, aalagaan laban sa mga uod (This will be the new Constitution that you will water and protect against the worms)."

The Charter Change Advocacy Commission which was tasked by Malacañang to conduct a nationwide education drive on the importance of Charter change will go to San Fernando, Pampanga and Urdaneta, Pangasinan after visiting Baguio City and Zambales.

It was in Zambales where the "Zambales Declaration" pledging to pursue the establishment of a unicameral parliamentary form of government and the liberalization of the economy through constitutional reforms was forged.

After wrapping up dialogues in Baguio City and Zambales, commission members will then go to the Bicol provinces and other key provinces in Luzon.

A survey conducted by the con-com least year showed that a majority of the people consulted favored a shift to a parliamentary form of government for its promised efficiency and transparency.

Meanwhile, the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PDSP) asked yesterday the Charter Change Advocacy Commission (AdCom) to bring their information campaign to far-flung areas to ensure that more people, especially the poor, be informed of the need to amend the Constitution.

In a statement, the PDSP said that while the Adcom has launched a caravan in order to consult more people in the countryside on the need to amend the Constitution, it has reportedly limited its destinations to cities and urban areas.

The PDSP said Adcom caravans should also visit far-flung and hard to reach villages since residents in these areas who belong to the country’s poorest sectors are hungry for information and would be eager to know how changing the Constitution would improve their lives.

"The Adcom should widen the reach of its public information campaign. It should ascertain that farmers, fisherfolk, health workers and even housewives in remote barangays get the chance to participate in consultation proceedings," lawyer Jose Ricafrente, PDSP legal department head, said.

"The target of these consultations should be those who have the least knowledge about the Charter change, not those who are bombarded with information through radio, television and newspapers.

"Consultation meetings held in these places are usually attended by local officials and government employees who already have knowledge of what the campaign is all about."

The PDSP supports the campaign to change the system of government from presidential to parliamentary.

Jesuit priest Romeo Intengan, a founding leader of the political party, said an important requirement of Charter change is that "the people be heard."

"Those who favor Charter change have the obligation to explain the need for it for the good of the nation, to the people whose approval they seek for the draft Constitution," he said.

"Why preach to people who already have knowledge of Charter change? The advocacy campaign should target the ignorant, those who have zero or very little knowledge about the need to amend the Constitution and how this would improve the economy and the people’s lives." — With Paolo Romero