Little Notes

Lito Lorenzana of the government-funded Charter Change Advocacy Commission had this to say when the fake People’s Initiative was filed by Sigaw ng Bayan yesterday:

“Anti-charter change forces have mobilized their legal teams to block the filing of the petition. They are questioning the legitimacy of the people’s initiative claiming that there is no enabling law or sufficient decree that covers such an exericse of sovereignty. But who can question a moral and spontaneous surge of collective action that goes beyond the legal boundaries? Do we have to remind them that sovereignty resides in the people, from whom all power of the State emanate?”

Moral and spontaneous? Were the barangay assemblies organized and funded by the DILG to jumpstart this fake PI signature campaign both moral and spontaneous? How about the acts of bribery, coercion, and deception that made it easy for SnB to gather 9 million signatures in less than two weeks? Pray tell, could Atty. Raul Lambino and his other invisible colleagues in SnB have organized such an expensive nationwide campaign on their own?

“[...] goes beyond legal boundaries?” If the exercise is not within legal boundaries and goes even beyond it, does that mean that SnB, the Ad-Com, and this administration are not covered by jurisprudence and constitutional provisions on what constitutes a legitimate people’s initiative?

“Do we have to remind them that sovereignty resides in the people, from whom all power of the State emanate?” No, you don’t have to remind us that. You have to remind yourselves that with fear in your hearts. Be afraid because the people will not countenance unlawful acts being perpetrated in their name. Be afraid because someday history’s verdict will be rendered, by the very people that you now claim to represent and speak for.

Rhetorics aside, what does the Petition say?

“There shall be a President who shall be the Head of State. The executive power shall be exercised by a Prime Minister, with the assistance of the Cabinet. The Prime Minister shall be elected by a majority of all the Members of Parliament from among themselves. He shall be responsible to the Parliament for the program of government.”

And how will this Prime Minister be chosen?

“The incumbent President, who is the Chief Executive, shall nominate, from among the members of the interim Parliament, an interim Prime Minister, who shall be elected by a majority vote of the members thereof. The interim Prime Minister shall oversee the various ministries and shall perform such powers and resonsiblities as may be delegated to him by the incumbent President.”

Who will compose the Interim Parliament from among whose members an Interim PM would arise?

“There shall exist, upon the ratification of these amendments, an interim Parliament which shall continue until the Members of the regular Parliament shall have been elected and shall have qualified. It shall be composed of the incumbent Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives and the incumbent Members of the Cabinet who are heads of executive departments.”

What will be the work of this Interim Parliament?

“Within forty-five days from ratification of these amendments, the interim Parliament shall convene to propose amendments to, or revisions of, this Constitution consistent with the principles of local autonomy, decentralization and a strong bureaucracy.”

Until when will the Interim Parliament last?

“The interim Parliament shall provide for the election of the members of Parliament, which shall be synchronized and held simultaneously with the election of all local government officials. Thereafter, the Vice President, as Member of Parliament, shall immediately convene the Parliament and shall initially preside over its session for the purpose of electing the Prime Minister, who shall be elected by a majority vote of all its members, from among themselves. The duly elected Prime Minister shall continue to exercise and perform the powers, duties, and responsiblities of the interim Prime Minister until the expiration of the term of the incumbent President and Vice-President.”

What is so bad about all these? Power will be concentrated in the Interim Parliament which shall decide the following: 1) when elections will be held, 2) which provisions of the Constitution to change. The President, on the other hand, will 1) choose her Interim Prime Minister which will be elected by members of the Interim Parliament, 2) Bring with her to the Interim Parliament as automatic members the Secretaries of the Cabinet, and 3) because she holds the majority of IP members, she would be able to influence through the Interim Prime Minister, the changing of our Constitution and the setting of the elections (and parameters for it) for Parliament.

So tell me, is this what our people really need and want? Is this the solution to all of our problems. Or is this just all about power — that they have, and continue to wield “beyond legal boundaries”?

One Voice is sponsoring a mass tomorrow (Friday, August 25), 6:30 pm at the College Chapel of Ateneo de Manila University, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City.

This Mass for Political Vigilance and Genuine Reforms is open to all Filipinos who share our cause and would like to offer prayers for our country at a time when even its own Constitution is under assault.

Let us seek divine guidance and moral courage to speak out with one voice for the preservation of our civil liberties and the rule of law. Let us also offer prayers for peace, unity, and social justice to reign in our homeland.

Bring your friends and family to this solemn occasion.

Thank you.

I think government’s slow — incoherent? — response to the Guimaras oil spill borders on criminal neglect.

How come none of the Cabinet Secretaries have been there to attend to the needs of the affected communities? Where is our Environment Secretary? How about the DOH? And why do we allow temporary clean-up work involving hazardous materials to be compensated for only P175 a day?

Must government action always be triggered by a roundtable discussion by the President or her visit to a calamity site? Can’t the members of the Cabinet act on their own and be more visible in doing so to assure our people of a government that works?

I know that we have an excellent pool of civil servants. I believe in their competence and sincerity. I’ve worked in government for 18 years and I know so many officers who, once given their chance to shine, would not hesitate to give their all in any crisis situation.

Let them shine, even if their Cabinet secretaries prefer the silence and meekness of the lambs. The Guimaras oil spill does not have the glamor of one’s typical relief operations that can covered without a sweat by major tri-media networks. No, the situation in Guimaras requires an official wearing boots and gloves, breathing in and handling oil sludge like the ordinary folks do. Or he/she can just stay above the water, clean and healthy, but on-site where directions and decisions have to be given and made.

I suggest that Congress fast-tracks a supplemental budget for the Guimaras oil spill crisis alone. I suggest that the President takes the next flight out there and bring her Cabinet with her. I suggest that more than just a creation of yet another task force, concrete measures be done to move the elderly, women and children out of the directly affected communities before they die a slow death due to this spreading black plague.

Aside from my pet project, “Shoes”, I have embarked on another initiative to encourage our kababayans overseas and those leaving the country for the very first time, to register under the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) program of the Comelec and Department of Foreign Affairs.

Continuing OAV registration started on October 1, 2005 and was supposed to end by August 31, 2006. In a commendable move, the Comelec has decided to extend this deadline by another month or until September 30, 2006.

Registration requires only that the applicant bring his or her passport and fill out an OAV registration form. It takes only a few minutes but leads to the political empowerment of every OFW/dual citizenship-holder. By the way, previous registrants need not register again.

If you are leaving the country for the very first time as an OFW, you can register as an absentee voter at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Building and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Just ask for directions to the nearest OAV registration desk.

In 2004, when overseas Filipinos exercised their right to vote for the very first time, there were 364, 187 registrants out of who 233,092 actually voted (65% global turn-out). There were heartfelt stories of retired Filipinos who lined up at their embassies at dawn’s first light, wearing their best outfits, in order to cast their historic ballots. Exercising the right to choose national candidates affirms their being Filipino at heart despite the distance, and connects them to their homeland’s fate as responsible citizens. This hard-fought right may soon be lost if the government-backed Cha-cha Express steamrolls its way through the moleskin of history, so please do claim your right now.

As of August 15, the Comelec in close coordination with the DFA has reigstered 100, 119 new overseas absentee voters. Kudos to the team of Ambassador Weng Sanchez of our Philippine Consulate in Sanfo, USA for having the most number of new registrants. More updates on the status of our OAV program soon.

For those who wish to know more about how to register, please visit www.dfa.gov.ph. And if you have relatives abroad, please encourage them to register as well. Remember, deadline ends September 30, 2006!

In the olden days, Filipino society was dominated by a powerful but tiny minority who spoke to their kin in Spanish, to their friends in English and to the household help in Tagalog. I am sure that stratification still exists albeit perhaps this minority is now also attuned to the Korean telenovelas of our day.

Today, when you go around the world to shop in street markets where bartering is allowed, one hears a stall owner say these magic words: “You Filipino, come here. Mural lang.” This anecdote tells us that the Filipino Diaspora has succeeded in exposing our national language to the rest of the world.

We owe much to the Filipino language as our badge of unity and bond of cultural identity as more citizens leave for abroad with either a luggage, briefcase or a coin purse of English, depending on one’s education, as a linguistic tool to get by.

Today, our schools are once again facing a major policy shift. Former Tarlac Representative and now, Secretary-Designate of the Department of Education, Jesli Lapus, believes that English must now be the language of choice in educating our youth. In media interviews, the secretary said, “Our competitiveness is being challenged, particularly in our proficiency in the English language, which has been our trademark in the world.”

I respectfully beg to differ. Our trademark has never been just English alone. If you ask foreign employers who were not to the English language born, they will tell you that they like Filipino workers because they can be trusted. Overseas Filipino workers work hard not just for the future of their families but also to sustain the operations of the companies that they work for. It is not all about English, but time-tested values as well. Read more »

This announcement was passed on to me by fellow blogger and columnist Ellen Tordesillas of Malaya and Abante.

The Cancer Institute’s Cervical Cancer Prevention (CECAP) Center together with  JHPIEGO   (An affiliate of Johns Hopkins) is in need of a Program Coordinator and a Program Manager that will oversee the JHPIEGO/CECAP programs in the Philippines. The salary will be  at $8,000.00/year, with 13th month pay plus benefits.