MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 25, 2008) – A Filipino lawmaker on Tuesday accused the Arroyo government of pushing for amendments in the Constitution to prolong the President into power.
President Gloria Arroyo is to step down in 2010 when her term ends, but her allies in Congress, led by House Speaker Prospero Nograles, are campaigning to amend the Constitution and at one point proposed to turn the lower house into a constituent assembly that would tackle changes in the fundamental laws on the land.
Rep. Liza Maza said moves to amend the Constitution being pursued in the lower house reek of evil motives and should immediately be blocked. Political activists continue to hold sporadic rallies in front of Nograles’ congressional office in Davao City to condemn the proposed charter change.
”It is greed and guilt that is behind the moves to amend the Constitution as well as desperate attempts to extend their terms beyond 2010,” Maza, who is also Assistant Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, said.
Maza, who belongs to the militant party-list group called Gabriela, said President Arroyo and her allies have not been cleared of allegations of kickbacks and corruption in any of the impeachment hearings and committee investigations in both Congress and the Senate since 2001.
Rep. Jose de Venecia, a former House Speaker and a one time ally of President Arroyo, has accused her of bribery, saying, she tried to bribe him to put off support for the impeachment complaint against her.
De Venecia has testified Monday against the President in congressional hearings on another impeachment complaint. Other lawmakers also accused the President of bribery, corruption, violation of the constitution and betrayal of public trust.
President Arroyo’s spokesmen strongly denied all the accusations against the embattled leader, who was also accused of poll fraud in the 2004 national elections against her closest rival, Fernando Poe Jr.
Maza said: “President Arroyo cannot just simply escape the charges against her. She should be held accountable for the strings of cases which include betrayal of public trust, culpable violations of the Philippine Constitution, bribery and graft and corruption, all of which glaringly constitute grounds for her impeachment.”
She said other lawmakers from the progressive party-list bloc are poised to frustrate all moves to amend the Constitution.
”The move to change the charter will only serve the vested interests of the Arroyo administration. The urgent clamor for Charter change exists only in Malacañang and its allies. The latest IBON nationwide survey showed that 77% of Filipino people reject such scheme to amend the Constitution. It is the last thing that the people need,” Maza said.
She was referring to a nationwide survey conducted this October by the independent IBON Foundation which showed that majority of Filipinos continue to reject moves to amend the Constitution.
The IBON survey was conducted nationwide from October 1 to 10 with 1,494 respondents from various sectors. The survey used a multi-stage probability sampling scheme with a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.
President Gloria Arroyo's allies in Congress have proposed to change the system of government from presidential to parliamentary or federalism.
Militant groups and political activists have previously accused Arroyo of using the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to amend the Constitution and eventually prolong her to stay into power. But since the peace talks had collapsed, Arroyo’s allies are now saying that the change in the Constitution is needed to introduce reforms in the economy, among others.
Under the presidential form of government, Arroyo is allowed only one six-year term. In the charter change proposal suggested by her political allies who dominate Congress, she can be elected as prime minister should Congress dissolve the Senate and change the system of government to parliamentary and eventually prolong her into power beyond 2010.
Many Filipinos said they would oppose any term extension of Arroyo beyond 2010.
Arroyo deposed President Joseph Estrada in a people power revolution in 2001, but corruption scandals in her government and allegations of poll fraud has made her extremely unpopular.
Recent corruption scandals besetting the Arroyo administration have led most Filipinos to call for the President to step down, according to another IBON survey.
Asked if they were aware of calls made recently by members of the Church and other sectoral groups for President Arroyo to resign from office and face corruption charges leveled against her, 75% of the total 1,503 survey respondents said yes.
Of these, 77.4% said they agreed with such call to step down.
Various interfaith and sectoral groups such as Solidarity Philippines, Concerned Citizens Group, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, among others, have called for a rejection of what they called as Arroyo’s morally bankrupt government. (Mindanao Examiner)
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