ULAP lauds opposition’s rising acceptance of gov’t shift

The 1.7 million-strong Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) welcomed yesterday the rising acceptability among key opposition figures of a switch to the unicameral parliamentary government.

Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado, ULAP president, said one clear proof that the people prefer the peaceful alternative of switching to a unicameral parliamentary system to overhaul the country’s defective political system is the growing receptiveness to the proposal of personalities previously opposed to Charter change.

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon said recently before the Philippine Constitutional Association that he was open to the proposed parliamentary shift as a way to eliminate the influence of power brokers and well-entrenched groups in the country’s politics, he added.

Biazon had cited the same structural defects that ULAP and the Sigaw ng Bayan have been pointing out as the very reason for the continued political instability and anemic growth, which could be cured quickly through a shift to a unicameral parliamentary system, Aumentado said.

Mandaue City Councilor Carlo Fortuna, ULAP secretary general, said Senators Edgardo Angara, Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Lito Lapid had also expressed willingness to support constitutional amendments.

This growing openness among personalities opposed to the shift to a parliamentary system has punctured the results of a June 22-28 survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations, supposedly showing that majority of Filipinos do not want constitutional amendments, he added.

Besides eliminating the influence of political power brokers, a parliamenatry setup would also render military coups useless because removing non-performing or corrupt officials under the system is done through a mere vote of no confidence by the Parliament, Fortuna said.

Meanwhile, Aumentado condemned yesterday the Catholic bishops who had admitted giving refuge to Magdalo soldiers implicated in the alleged failed coup last Feb. 24.

Local officials belonging to the ULAP said these bishops have set a bad example by coddling renegade soldiers.

They are supposed to provide spiritual guidance to their flock, the officials added.

Aumentado said what the bishops did was tantamount to the criminal act of harboring a fugitive.

"This means that Catholic bishops tasked to preach the word of God are cavorting with ultra-rightist soldiers on the run who have teamed up with communist elements espousing a godless ideology," he said.

Aumentado said Church leaders harboring suspected elements of destabilization could be treading on dangerous grounds.

"The latest pastoral statement of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) shows that the Church would not allow itself to be used by any bloc to push their self-serving political agenda," he said.

"With the release of the pastoral letter, we hope that our religious leaders would now carefully ponder their actions and refrain from committing questionable acts that could seriously undermine the credibility and reputation of the Church as our spiritual beacon."

A clear proof that the people prefer the peaceful alternative of switching to a unicameral parliamentary system to overhaul our defective political system is the growing receptiveness to this proposal of personalities previously opposed to Charter change, Aumentado said.

Meanwhile, a new women’s group launched yesterday its campaign to push for Charter change to protect the welfare of Filipino women.

Melchora or Malayang Babae para sa Cha-cha at Reporma is a federation of 18 women’s groups in the business sector, students, overseas Filipino workers, urban poor, vendors and women workers, Muslim, indigenous people, government and private employees and the marginalized sectors in the society. — Cecille Suerte Felipe, Helen Flores, Mike Frialde