ISSUE NO. 22 MAY 31, 2006

SP member bats for Cha-Cha
A Sangguniang Panlalawigan member of Siquijor province said the country all the more needs a new kind of governance contrary to what Cha-Cha critics believe is an untimely move since the country is now “in chaos.”

Board Member and Committee Chair on Municipal Affairs Earl Stanley O. Matas said it is about time to amend the Constitution so the country can move forward.

“Based on the urgency of the situation this is the right time. If not now, then when?” asks Matas, adding “The more we need to change then, to attain economic and political stability.”
He stressed that there are provisions in the 6constitution that need to be amended to “keep up with the challenges of the times.”

“We don’t enjoy the luxury of time,” says Matas who branded the claims of the supposed “critics” of the proposed constitutional reform as “fake situations” created by a few individuals who are opposed to the administration.

However, Larena Municipal Mayor Gold L. Calibo, although not totally opposed to it, said that constitutional reform is not a solution to the present problem.

While he is open to the possibility of amending the constitution, he believes it is more important for the government to address the pressing needs of the people and put more focus on uplifting the lives of the poor now.

Calibo’s stance on charter change is on the same footing with that of Vice Governor Carl Mark Ganhinhin who dismissed the idea of outright changing the charter now.

The vice governor is amenable to charter change but only if after the people have been adequately informed on the proposed amendments to the constitution.

He says that although he believes that amending the constitution is one of the solutions to the country’s ills, however now is not the right time. “People do not know yet the implications of changing the Constitution,” Vice-Guv said, adding that the people needs to be properly informed first before implementing any constitutional amendment.

The issue on whether to change the present form of government in the country is the hottest talk of the town with ongoing debates heating up not only within the political circles but also down to the grassroots level.

The Constitutional Commission (ConCom) created by Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been conducting a traveling forum in key cities around the country to raise public awareness on the pro’s and con’s of charter change.

ConCom through its Advocacy Commission (AdCom) recently conducted a forum in Dumaguete City wherein ConCom Chairman Dr. Jose Abueva and member, former Senator Vicente Paterno, explained the advantages and disadvantages of shifting the present presidential government into a parliamentary.

Abueva said the country has a better shot at effective governance, progress and realization of our goals as a nation with a parliamentary system compared to the current presidential form of government.

He also stressed that the current system of government has caused intense rivalry and competition of power among the President and the legislative power of the Senate and House of Representatives due to the separation of executive powers. “Constant conflict and gridlock between the President and the House and the Senate and too many congressional investigations delay and obstruct legislations and reforms,” said Abueva.

Aside from this, he said that candidates for President and Senate are increasingly being elected for their personal popularity or “win-ability” and wealth rather than political leadership.

He said that all these and other aberrances of the present form of government hindering the nation’s growth would be addressed and corrected should the shift to a parliamentary government push through.

Economic stagnation will arise if we go on with present charter- Guv Fua
Siquijor Governor Orlando B. Fua feels the urgency to reform the current charter as he fears that economic stagnation will ensue if the present Constitution remains unchanged.

Reacting to claims that the people were made to sign the people’s initiative petition without their full knowledge of what it is all about, Fua has this to say: “That’s baloney, just a product of imagination of those who said it.”

Fua joins a host of local government officials who believe that amending the charter and shifting into a parliamentary form of government would serve as the country’s springboard to development.

But critics have lambasted the move to amend the charter, particularly the people’s initiative petition which they claim was a sham as the people who signed it were not fully aware of what they were signing for.

But the petition proved to be valid as majority of the 9 million signatures in the petition have already been verified, says Dr. Jose A. Abueva, chairman of the Constitutional Commission.

Abueva heads the team of commissioners who are going around the country educating people on the pro’s and con’s of charter change.

Recent Social Weather Station surveys have indicated that very few Filipinos actually understand the present Constitution, the system of government and the various proposals for amendments to the Charter.

In their nationwide sorties, the BBC commissioners tackle proposals for or against charter change and at the same time collate opinions and recommendations on charter change which will later be presented to key legislators and policy makers.

Abueva, along with ConCom member, former Senator Vicente Paterno, was recently in Dumaguete City to conduct a Charter Change forum.

In Siquijor, a charter change advocacy-orientation-cum-training and consultation have already been conducted May 9 at the SP Session Hall, Capitol, Siquijor, Siquijor.

Sponsored by the Union of the Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) with the provincial government here, the orientation was attended by local elected officials and representatives of non-government organizations and people’s organizations.

The six municipalities have also scheduled a similar consultation and information drive in their respective towns and barangays.

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Provincial Director Dominica K. Lacuesta said the activities are being handled by government officials and private sector representatives who attended the earlier orientation sponsored by ULAP.

PAO sets natural fermented solution (NFS) production training
The Provincial Agriculturist Office will conduct a training on the production of fertilizer and other methods of keeping vegetation and livestock healthy on May 31 to June 2, 2006 at the YMCA Conference Hall, this city.

The training on the production of natural fermented solution (NFS) will be attended by technicians from the Provincial Agriculturist Office. It is also open to other interested participants for a registration fee of P360 to cover the training costs as well as snacks and meals for the 3-day training, says PAO Information Officer Nitz Bangay.

Tristan Nacua, consultant of the Negros Island Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Foundation, Inc. (NISARD), will be the training’s resource person. The focus of NISARD’s agriculture development shares that of the provincial government which is on organic farming technology, adds Bangay.

Interested participants will be accommodated on a first-come first-serve basis. Confirmation of attendance should be done on or before May 29, 2006 through either Merlissa or Chonie at 422-4468.

Critics told to stop myopic view on cha-cha; AdCom notes majority favors cha-cha
The Charter Change Advocacy Commission recently concluded a traveling forum on Cha-Cha in Dumaguete City and a quick response survey conducted among the forum’s participants showed that majority believe it is now time to amend the constitution.

The reasons given by the respondents favoring constitution reform ranged from economic advantages to the need to “update” the charter.

On the other hand, respondents who disagreed say that they doubt the motives behind the cha-cha movement and cited the need for more discussion.

The survey results here also reflect the groundswell of Filipinos who approve charter change based on the results of a Pulse Asia survey released in March 2006.

While Filipinos remain divided on whether the constitution should be revised now, those who approve of Charter change now has been increasing steadily since March 2005, said the survey, which was conducted from February 18 to March 4.

Forty three percent of the respondents said “yes” when asked whether it was right to amend the Constitution now, compared to 36 percent in October 2005, and 29 percent in March 2005.

The number of those who oppose an amendment to the Constitution in March is down from 55 percent in October 2005, the survey said.

The survey covered 1,800 respondents, 18 years old and above, had a margin of error of 3 percent, and a confidence level of 95 percent.

Proponents of charter changed have appealed to critics, particularly the senators, to stop regarding cha-cha with a myopic view and instead keep their doors open for debates and healthy dialogues on constitutional reforms.

Charter Change AdCom chairman Lito Monico Lorenzana in a recent forum said that charter amendments is a “high stakes” political exercise that cannot tolerate “a myopic, inflexible reverence to a political system that is not responsive and in sync to the needs of the people.”

The AdCom team, which has been conducting dialogue sorties nationwide, recently expressed their satisfaction that its aim of spurring public discussions on constitutional reforms not only has taken off but also elicited an unexpected discovery: that majority is for charter change after all.

Lorenzana notes “debates are on the upswing. But not only that, it also appears from our talks with various sectors, including some seeming opponents, that they want some form of constitutional amending or large-scale revision.”


Cha-cha debate heats up
“We’re a nation bitterly divided on (the issue of) charter change.”

This was the remark made by Consultative Commission Chairman Jose Abueva in his presentation during the Multi-sectoral Forum on Cha-Cha held at St. Paul’s University, this city.

Abueva observed that the people have likened the issue of constitutional reform to that of “the forces of good versus evil.”

Abueva said the charter change should be made urgently before our country’s situation worsens.

He said the present government system have failed to resolve the problem of ineffectivity in the government unlike in parliamentary form of government where the legislative and executive are one, thus accountability is assumed.

Furthermore, the former University of the Philippines (UP) President said electing the head of our Republican state is largely based on popularity, whereas in parliamentary, the head of the government is chosen for his leadership and experience in the party and efficiency in public service.

Abueva noted that regional and local government units, parliamentary government in federal structure will enable local leaders to give immediate response to the needs of their constituents and capability to improve their local economy without having to rely on the central government’s funding but their own.

On the other hand, former Senator Vicente Paterno said people lack adequate information on issues involved in charter change.

He opined that trainors on cha-cha is necessary for the people to better understand the issues thus form their own opinion and make the right decision. “People just say yes to something they don’t know”, Paterno said.

Paterno said what is necessary is not in a change of the form of government but in the hearts of the people running the system. He further said major issues must be threshed out before jumping radically to change the constitution. He continued by posing a question, “Will Cha-Cha ensure the future of the Philippines?”

Rev. Father Gamaliel Tulabing, who was one of the reactors during the forum, echoed Paterno’s thoughts, saying cha-cha should be thoroughly studied, analyzed and discussed.

On the other hand, Alex Sy from the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce said a change to parliamentary government should not be done abruptly since the country is still facing major issues that need to be resolved.

Oriental Negros Governor George Arnaiz, pointed out that charter change should be made to adapt to the changes of the times.

PNP strengthens security in Siquijor seaports
The Siquijor Police Provincial Office is trying to strengthen security of the province’s seaports as it deploys uniformed personnel to Siquijor seaports to provide necessary security during arrival and departure of sea vessels.

Police Community Relation-Police Non-Commissioned Officer Lyn Desiree B. Lagudas reported during the forum with the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), DILG, and Provincial Management Coordinating Council (PMCC) held May 26, 2006 at DILG Provincial Office here.

Lagudas said the move came after the local government officials complained of poor implementation of security measures in different seaports which they said could be a “soft target for terrorist attack.”

The issue was raised during the recent Peace and Order Council (PPOC) meeting where local officials also noted that only the seaport of Larena is provided with the necessary physical and personnel security and that not a single personnel from the maritime police is assigned in the province.

Police Senior Superintendent Orlando Domingo Ualat in his report rendered by Lagudas said that since Siquijor is one of the tourist destinations in the country, the police cannot just rely on its present peace and order condition. He said Siquijor police provincial office needs to upgrade it manpower resources which have been outnumbered by the growing population.

Ualat, however, still boasts of the effectiveness and efficiency of the police in the province “as evidenced by the minimal number of crimes committed, and with the absence of organized and syndicated crime groups, communist terrorists and other threat groups in the province.”

Siquijor island is still the safest and ideal tourist destination in the region, he said.

Unicef conducts child participation training for Visayas youth leaders
Identified youth leaders in the Visayas region will attend a four-day Island-Wide Trainor’s Training on Child and Youth Participation entitled “Hand-in-Hand: Enhancing Child Participation in the Child Friendly Movement.”

The training conducted by Unicef will be from June 1 to 4, 2006 at Golden Peak Hotel and Suites, Cebu City.

The Child-Friendly Movement has been actively building child-friendly communities across the country where children survive and develop their fullest potential as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) which states that children have the right to voice out their views and opinions on matters that affect their lives.

The youth leaders will be accompanied by one to two members of the Provincial Technical Working of the Sixth Country Programme for Children of each province.

The training is spearheaded by the Unicef Communication Section which has been building awareness on CRC and helping partners put its principles into practice. It sees child participation as a major component towards the realization of children’s rights.

The Island-wide Trainor’s Training hopes to bring together children and adults from Unicef CPC-6 areas to learn how children’s participation can be effectively promoted in their respective areas.

During the training, children and adult participants will learn important concepts on child participation, such as why it is important and beneficial.

Children and adults will also look at factors that will either hinder or facilitate meaningful children participation in their areas.