SPEAKER NOGRALES CRITICIZED FOR SUCCUMBING
TO PALACE PRESSURE

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today expressed disappointment over the decision of Speaker Prospero Nograles to back the approval of an administration-sponsored resolution that will enable the House of Representatives to unilaterally amend the Constitution and adopt a unicameral parliamentary system of government even without the participation of the Senate.

Pimentel said Nograles is deceiving himself by saying that he will stick to his proposal to limit the amendments the economic provisions of the Constitution and there will be no extension of terms of incumbent elective officials.

"The hidden agenda of the administration is to keep President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in power beyond 2010 either by lifting the term limits or by adopting a parliamentary system. It would be the height of naivette if Speaker Nograles does not know that," he said.

"I am very much disappointed because he seems to waver in his opposition to it now. Is the speakership more important to him than the public welfare."

Earlier, congressional allies of the President reportedly threatened to remove Nograles from the speakership for his slow action on the proposals to amend the Constitution. But Nograles said he would rather lose the speakership than be forced to drop is stand that the amendments should be limited to the economic provisions.

Pimentel also accused the Arroyo administration of political hypocrisy and deceit of the highest order by continuously denying that it has a hand in the Charter Change initiative.

He said the administration's claim is belied by the fact that no less than presidential son Mikey Arroyo, congressman of Pampanga, has spearheaded the campaign to gather the signatures of House members to the amendment resolution.

Pimentel said Mrs. Arroyo has also enticed congressmen to sign the resolution by offering pork barrel allocations and other benefits to those who would do so.