No to Charter Change in Zamboanga City

Bayan Muna Party list Representative Satur Ocampo tinkers with his phone Saturday, July 18, 2009 during a break at a press conference in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines on the issue of Charter change together with Shirley Ann Casiano, of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines; Aurora Gonzales, of the People’s Movement Against Charter Change; and Roel Marcial, from the youth sector.

Ocampo’s group also participated in a forum that tackled proposals by President Gloria Arroyo's allies in Congress to change the Constitution that could prolong Arroyo's stay to power. Arroyo is to step down next year, but is said to be seeking a congressional seat in her hometown in Pampanga. And her allies are proposing a shift to parliamentary government where Arroyo could be elected as Prime Minister. Ocampo, an anti-Arroyo activist, urged the locals to resist the proposed change in the Charter. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Jung Francisco)