Chiz: Stop Cha-Cha moves and focus on economic problems
Stop dancing and start working

Sen. Chiz Escudero is calling on his colleagues in Congress to give up attempts to amend the Constitution and attend to the more pressing problems of the country, in the face of the current global economic crisis.

"We should focus on the economic problems of the country. More and more Filipinos are losing their jobs. There will be no food on the table if we don't address this now," Escudero said. The senator said that the cash crunch has brought about an alarming rate of job displacements here in the country.

"More than the self-serving movement to change the Constitution, the problems facing every Filipino today is job security. The government has warned of more mass layoffs in the future, once the effects of the crisis are magnified this year," Escudero said.

"I believe this is the pressing issue of the day and members of Congress should unite and coordinate efforts to meet this challenge head on," he added.

Due to the global economic crisis, a number of factories owned by foreign companies, like Intel Philippines, have closed shop, resulting in loss of jobs for thousands of workers. The Department of Labor and Employment has projected more job losses this year.

"Creating more jobs in the country and securing existing ones should be our main focus right now. Congress should work on passing legislation that will address the economic crisis," Escudero said.

He said that amendments to the Constitution could wait, as any move to push for such will only be met with skepticism that it will be used to extend the terms of incumbent elective officials, particularly President Arroyo.

"The country does not need that right now. While thousands of Filipinos lose their jobs, Congress does nothing but engage in pointless activities such as Charter change. We should address the economic problems if we are to call ourselves representatives of the people," Escudero said.