UNO to consult public on Cha-cha

MANILA, Philippines – The United Opposition (UNO) plans to conduct its own public consultation on the issue of amending the Constitution.

“We fear that we will see a rehash of the spurious people’s initiative campaign undertaken by President Arroyo’s political operators in 2006,” Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, UNO president, said yesterday.

“We will closely monitor the conduct of consultations on Charter change ordered by Speaker (Prospero) Nograles. We will also conduct parallel
consultations with the people,” he added.

Binay reiterated the opposition’s position that amending the Constitution should happen after President Arroyo ends her term in 2010.

“We believe that Charter change at this time will only serve to extend Mrs. Arroyo’s hold on power and likewise extend the misery of millions of Filipinos,” he said.

Binay said Filipinos do not need Charter change, but “measures to address hunger and poverty.” He called on the public to remain vigilant in the face of alleged attempts by Mrs. Arroyo’s political followers to manipulate the process of amending the Constitution.

He reminded the people that in 2006, UNO was able to expose cases of fraud and deceit during the People’s Initiative campaign undertaken by the administration.

“In that alleged People’s Initiative campaign, the verification process undertaken by the Makati Commission on Elections (Comelec) uncovered cases of forged signatures, including those of deceased residents, on the petitions submitted to the poll body,” Binay said.

He said Makati residents have filed charges of falsification of documents against Akbay Pinoy, an organization that certified the documents submitted for verification to the Comelec.

In Makati alone, UNO claimed to have been able to document incidents where money, bags of rice, noodles and canned goods were being offered in exchange for signatures.

Nograles yesterday revealed that he has asked congressmen to begin consultations with their constituents on the issue of Charter change and the shift to a federal system of government.

In a letter dated Sept. 1, the Speaker asked his colleagues to conduct their own consultations in the next two months to “feel the public pulse” on the need to change the Constitution.

Nograles’ letter came less than a week after the House committee on constitutional amendments voted to forgo a decision on whether there should be Charter change by instead calling for nationwide consultations until Nov. 30.