House move shameless, say senators – Malaya 12.07.2006

BY JP LOPEZ AND DENNIS GADIL

SENATORS who are nominally allies of President Arroyo yesterday joined their opposition colleagues in condemning the "railroading" by the House of a Constituent Assembly without the participation of senators.

Senators Pia Cayetano, Richard Gordon, Ralph Recto and Mar Roxas said the behavior of Malacañang allies at the House is a preview of things to come if the proposed shift to a unicameral parliament succeeds.

"In their shameless bid to perpetuate themselves in power, the House leadership is pushing the entire nation on the brink of a constitutional crisis and political turmoil," Cayetano said. "Who are the real ‘destabilizers’ now?"

"Their illegal and immoral scheme is bound to blow up in their faces soon and they will be ultimately answerable to the people," she said.

She said the railroading of Cha-cha train "should be the best argument for the retention of the bicameral legislative setup which ensures a system of checks and balances, as opposed to a unicameral parliament where a powerful political bloc can run roughshod over the opposition and bend its rules to serve vested interests."

Cayetano lauded the 25 congressmen led by minority members who stood against moves to amend the House rules to accommodate Cha-cha.

"The ‘Valiant 25’ represented the voice of the majority of our people who are opposed to changing the Constitution at this time in such a hurried and hodge-podge manner. They deserve all our support," she said.

"The rule requiring a bicameral vote for amending the charter was put up precisely to protect our people from any powerful political bloc that seeks to revise our fundamental law without the consent of both Houses," she added.

Cayetano said the House majority’s insistence on pushing Con-Ass was the "height of callousness," considering that millions of Filipinos are still reeling from the devastation brought by typhoon "Reming" in Bicol and Southern Tagalog.

Recto also said the move of the majority to ram through, "using numbers over reason," House Resolution 1450 which seeks the convening of Con-Ass "is indeed a fitting day to launch a sneak attack on democracy."

"That day is the 65th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. And if the House juggernaut will succeed, then Dec. 7, 2006 will indeed be remembered as our Day of Infamy," Recto said.

"If not repelled, the House move will leave our system of government in smoldering ruins, and the rule of law in tatters. The Senate and - this I believe - a Supreme Court of upright men and women will not allow this transgression."

"And in the end, just like what happened 65 years ago, Filipinos will rise up to the challenge and defeat this Banzai-like charge on their democracy," Recto said.

Gordon said the House move was "shameless."

"I was really learning how they operate in the House. Talagang revelation ... Itong ginawa nila, hindi maganda," he said.

Gordon said the House violated its own resolution last year that the Senate was needed in the process that would lead to a Constituent Assembly.

He maintained both Houses must vote separately to allow charter change through a Constituent Assembly.

Roxas said senators would not allow congressmen to proceed with their illegal act and cited a resolution signed by 22 senators stating their position against a "unicameral" Constituent Assembly.

He said the revision of the rules was a "naked attempt" to prolong their (congressmen) stay in power.

Roxas warned of grave political backlash from the people if the House continues on its final "Cha-cha" push. "The people would want to continue to directly choose the leaders of the country."

Sen. Franklin Drilon said the House violated the Constitution when it "whimsically" changed its internal rules, which he pointed out was based on provisions of the charter.

He vowed to lead senators in contesting "at the appropriate time" the House action before the Supreme Court.

The right time, he said, is when the House goes to the Commission on Elections and requests the setting of a date for a plebiscite.

Once a motion is filed with the Comelec, and this has been determined to be meritorious, a plebiscite will be scheduled not earlier than 60 days from the filing of the request, Drilon said.

THIEVES IN THE NIGHT

Sen. Panfilo Lacson branded as "constitutional rape" the House move to change its internal rules to pave the way for the convening of the Constituent Assembly this week.

"What some congressmen did Tuesday night was nothing short of unconstitutional rape. This is one of those rare instances where words are no longer enough to describe the disgust over the latest % and the most brazen % attempt to ram Charter change down the people’s collective throats," he said.

He said Malacañang allies at the House "threw out the window... whatever sense of decency left in them. Like thieves in the night, they pounced upon the unsuspecting citizenry just as it was fast asleep."

Minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said "it was a shameless betrayal of the public trust that the people had bestowed on the majority members of the House."

"Pushed to its logical conclusion, the move will now pave the way for the approval of the nefarious plot of Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. and his allies in the House to amend the Constitution so that there would be no elections in 2007, thereby extending their terms to benefit themselves and probably shift the form of government to parliamentary," Pimentel said.

ON LOSING SIDE

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago said the President has "has been consistently, all the times" calling administration senators to support her government’s charter change bid.

"Whether it was People’s Initiative or now the Constituent Assembly, she has never been shy about making her views known % that she wants her administration senators to go," she added.

Santiago said she, Recto, Ramon "Bong" Revilla and Manuel "Lito" Lapid were planning on attending the Constituent Assembly but admitted they are having second thoughts.

"This is a legal issue. It has never been resolved by the Supreme Court. Naturally, we don’t want to be on the losing side of history," she said.

She said her pro-Charter change stance could change depending on how the President acts on her December 5 letter seeking postponement of the appointment of a permanent chief justice to replace Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban who retires today.

Revilla said he has yet to make up his mind whether to attend the Constituent Assembly.

"Up to this point, I have no commitments to anybody. I know what I want to do but I want to be very sure. On Monday, I will give you a definite answer," he said. "If I feel that my decision is right, no amount of convincing, not even by the President, could change my mind."

Majority leader Francis Pangilinan said senators could not be stopped from attending the House-convened Con-ass "but they have no official capacity to represent the Senate."

"At the very least, they’re there not representing the Senate but themselves," he said.

He said senators attending the Con-Ass would just be reduced into "mere cheerleaders" of De Venecia.

BRAZEN ACT

Senate President Manuel Villar described the House action as "brazen."

"Desidido. Talagang ipipilit iyan at iyon lamang ang paraan para maipilit iyan. Garapal," he said.

"To me, kahit na may senador na a-attend, hindi mo masasabi na nandoon ang Senado. Parang sinabi mong na may congressman, hindi nangangahulugan na nandoon iyong House of Representatives," he said.

Senators in an emergency caucus last night circulated a resolution reiterating their stand that the convening of the Con-ass should be participated in by the Senate with both Houses voting separately and any effort to convene the Con-ass without the Senate was unconstitutional.