Cha-cha Will Further Bring Down Rating of PGMA

Senator Rodolfo G Biazon today warned that Cha-cha will further bring down the already very low rating of not only President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo but the whole Administration.

Biazon cited that the very low rating of the Administration is because of many negative issues that include: the unresolved question of legitimacy due to allegations of election fraud; Fertilizer Scam; Northrail contract; Venable contract; Diosdado Macapagal Highway contract; General Garcia corruption case in the AFP and many others.

The issue of charter change revolves around the kind of Constitutional amendments being pushed by the Administration, and manner by which these amendments to the fundamental law are being pushed.

There is no debate on the need to revisit the 1987 Constitution and effect certain amendments, Biazon clarified.

Biazon however cautioned, The people will reject any proposal to concentrate the two political powers of the Executive and the Legislative in the hands of ONE MAN that would result in dictatorial powers being possessed by ONE POLITICIAN.

The other proposal to remove the power from the people to elect the leader and leaders of this country will also be rejected. Under the proposal from the House of Representatives, the figure head President and the Prime Minister will be elected ONLY by the members of Parliament and NOT BY THE PEOPLE. This definitely will be rejected. Still another issue on charter change is the indecent haste of the proponents who resorted to short cuts through the disregard of institutional processes. This is proven by the recent Supreme Court ruling affirming with finality its earlier decision to junk a move by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her allies to amend the Constitution by a peoples initiative.. The decision, penned by Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, called the manner used to gather signatures for the peoples initiative a grand deception, citing that signatories were not really informed of the real objectives of the petition. My unsolicited advice to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is that she should distance herself from this drive by the leaders of the House of Representatives to change the Constitution, Biazon concluded.