Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon yesterday said he does not believe the campaign for Charter Change through a people's initiative is a ploy to keep President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in power as "She is strongly holding on."

The people should be given the freedom to choose if they want changes made to the Constitution or not, he said.

The governor's call came amid allegations from Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Francis Pangilinan yesterday that the people's initiative to push for a shift to a unicameral parliamentary form of government does not have an enabling law, and that government resources should not be used to carry it out through barangay assemblies tomorrow.

Asked if he knew that nationwide barangay assemblies set tomorrow are reportedly set to be used for the people's initiative for Charter change being pushed by the Arroyo administration, Marañon said "We were informed but not tapped."

The governor urged those opposed to Charter change not to stop people from attending the barangay assemblies, "Let's give the people a choice, let them do what they want."

"What we are hearing are the sentiments of the people in the urban areas (on Cha-cha), not those in the rural areas. We must also listen to the sentiments of the common tao and respect the will of the majority," he said.

The Cha-cha, as House Speaker Jose de Venecia explained, is designed to improve the present system to bring progress to the country, Marañon said.

We have a two-tract parallel initiative to achieve change in the country's form of government, one through both houses of congress and one by direct action of the Filipino people, de Venecia had said during his visit to Negros Monday.

De Venecia said these are by getting three-fourths votes of all the members of Congress to amend the Constitution, or through a people's initiatives.

To get a people's initiative off the ground signatures of 12 percent or 4.8 million of Filipino voters, with not less than 3 percent in any congressional district, throughout the Philippines are needed, he said.

SENATE OPPOSITION

Senator Estrada, who was in Bacolod yesterday, said both Houses of Congress cannot vote as one for Charter change.

In fact, the Senate passed a resolution stating that the Senate and House should vote separately not jointly because that is the essence of bicameralism, he pointed out. The majority of the senators, he said, are against Charter change now, although he agrees that amendments to some of the economic provisions of the Constitution are needed.

But the change in the form of government from presidential to parliamentary is not needed because the problems faced by the nation are not the fault of the Constitution, but of one person whom 64 percent of the people want out, according to the surveys, the senator said.

The people's initiative has no enabling law and if the administration insist on pushing it starting with the barangay assemblies tomorrow we will bring the matter to the Supreme Court, he also said.

Meanwhile, Senator Pangilinan, in a text message to the DAILY STAR, said "The people's initiative being facilitated by the Department of Interior and Local Government, local government units and the barangays is of doubtful legality on the grounds that the intent of the framers of the Constitution is for amendments by initiative to be available to ordinary citizens or private people's organizations and not to government officials."

"With the use of government funds in this undertaking, what we have before us therefore appears to be a government initiative and not a people's initiative," he said.

Initiatives are available only to amend and not to revise the Constitution as being pushed by the administration, therefore I cannot in conscience support it, Pangilinan said.

Felipe Levy Gelle, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Negros secretary general, in a press release statement yesterday urged Negrenses and Bacoleños to "oppose and resist" the use of the barangay assemblies as a strategy to collect Charter change signatures under the so-called people's initiative. "BAYAN also condemns the use of the government funds, resources and personnel for the self-serving interest of traditional politicians to entrench themselves into power by extension of terms to five year and remove the terms limits," he said.*CPG

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