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Baguio lawyers describe No-el indecent, unethical

BAGUIO CITY (Feb. 3) — The bid for a “no election” (No-el) in 2007 is simply indecent, immoral, unethical and illegal, the lone lady city councilor here stressed brushing aside hypocrisy that some politicians cannot hide. Another councilor wants a fresh mandate. Both councilors are not in favor of the no elections, but go for charter change (cha-cha).

“It is unethical for the legislative body to decide on something that they will benefit from. It cannot hide the personal interest by some quarters,” Baguio City Councilor Pinky Rondez said of the No-el bid. Rondez said she is categorically against No-el. “It really leaves a bad taste in the mouth,” she added.

The House Committee on Constitutional Amendments junked No-el at the hearing. However, the committee findings may still be overturned in the plenary sessions. It is one of the major points in the charter change pushed by the Arroyo administration.

Rondez said while she agrees with the analysis of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) that the No-el proposal is bribing public officials for them to support the bid for constitutional change, she is still for change in the form of government, which Bayan totally opposes. She thinks that the best way to change the constitution is through the Constitutional Convention (con-con, not through a Constitutional Assembly (con-ass).

However, the Philippine Councilors’ League (PCL) stood for No-el, according to Councilor Elmer Datuin, PCL national chairperson. He also cited that the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) is supporting the charter change as proposed by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s (GMA) Consultative Commission.

“Personally, I am not for No-el, because like other elected public official I want a fresh mandate,” Datuin told reporters on Feb. 2.

According to Datuin, ULAP is espousing peoples’ initiative (PI) as a means to change the constitution. The PI needs five million signatures nationwide. However, the Supreme Court ruled in 1996 that a PI could not be implemented because there are no guidelines on its implementation.

Rondez explained that a con-con is more participative, more neutral and no partisan political interests are involved. People will directly vote for con-con representatives who will focus to draft the new constitution, she said. The House of Representatives junked the con-con because of time and money considerations. It would take two years and around P15 billion to complete the process, according to Datuin.

On the other hand, senators do not like the idea of a Constitutional Assembly. Although the councilors agree that a three-fourths vote of all legislators is all it takes for cha-cha to pursue, the 1987 Constitution did not elaborate whether they should vote jointly or separately.

“It is dead-on-arrival at the Senate,” said Rondez, affirming an earlier Bayan statement that the cha-cha is like a death sentence to the senators.

Baguio’s lone Congress Representative Mauricio Domogan supported both the No-el and the cha-cha.

Baguio-based militant organizations under the Tongtongan ti Umili, local Bayan chapter, iterate that while they do not defend the 1987 Constitution, they will oppose cha-cha, which they say, makes it even worse.

Meanwhile, Rondez thinks that the recall petition filed on January 30 at the local Commission of Elections (Comelec) against incumbent Mayor Braulio D. Yaranon is too late, too divisive and a waste of taxpayers’ money. She explained that the process takes at least 90 days to complete and at least one year before the next elections.

The recall petition, which progressed at the height of the political bickering about the 2006 Panagbenga flower festival, listed 19 complaints against Yaranon.

Then again, Yaranon brushed aside the allegations and claimed that these are a mere ploy to stop him from unearthing more evidence of graft committed by his predecessor. # Lyn V. Ramo for NORDIS

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