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SENATE
minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. on Monday
confirmed his party’s conditional support for the
administration’s fresh attempt to amend the Constitution
to shift to a federal system of government by 2012,
federalization being a long-held position of Pimentel.
Pimentel
said that since he had been pushing for it long before
Mrs. Arroyo became President, “the idea that federalism
should now be discussed is acceptable to me” because it
transcends political considerations.
But
there has been widespread skepticism that President
Arroyo is sincere, with certain quarters suspecting she
floated the Charter-change proposal anew just to “divert
public attention from her present political troubles.”
It is a suspicion also held by Sen. Rodolfo Biazon and
Sen. Mar Roxas III among the many leading political
lights.
In this
situation, Pimentel qualified his view of the idea
saying, “Because President Arroyo is like the Greeks
bearing gifts [of a Trojan horse], we in the opposition
should always be wary of dealing with her.”
He added
that the PDP-Laban’s willingness, and even those of the
others in opposition, to discuss federalism in the
Cha-cha proposal should not be taken to mean “our
compromising the opposition stand against corruption in
government, extrajudicial killings, forced
disappearances, and the like that mar the record of the
present administration.”
“The
discussions on the federalism proposal should not be at
the expense of ending ongoing investigations into the
ZTE-broadband scandal and other anomalies in the Arroyo
administration,” he said.
Pimentel
also asserted that it does not mean the opposition
agrees to any ideal of extending Mrs. Arroyo’s hold on
power beyond her term, which ends in 2010.
At the
same time, he challenged the Arroyo administration to
carry out an honest-to-goodness campaign for the
adoption of a federal system to address the age-old
problems of overconcentration of power in Metro Manila
and misallocation of the country’s wealth among regions,
causing discontent and political discord.
Pimentel
admitted he shares the suspicion of many people that the
renewed interest shown by Mrs. Arroyo in the federalism
idea is a ploy to divert attention from her present
political troubles.
He said
a shift from the present highly centralized unitary
system to a federal system of government is a long and
difficult process that should be undertaken as early as
possible without being hampered by any partisan
wrangling or selfish ambitions of political leaders.
Akbayan
Rep. Risa Hontiveros said the revival of the
Charter-change bid means “the survival instinct of the
President is once again kicking in, but this time as a
response to a threat within her own base.”
“The
revived Cha-cha call is no doubt diversionary, but
what’s surprising is that this new attempt is apparently
JDV-less,” said Hontiveros. “When the administration
pushed for Cha-cha during the 13th Congress, it was
meant to tame or abolish an impertinent Senate. Speaker
de Venecia supported Cha-cha because he believes that a
shift to a parliamentary form of government would
benefit his own desire to become a prime minister.
“The new
attempt is conspicuously JDV-less, however. The stress
now is on federalism, a message that, perhaps in
addition to the alleged passing of envelopes and bags
containing ‘Christmas gifts,’ clearly pleases the local
allies of the President,” she added.
She said
that a JDV-less Cha-cha is unlikely to survive. “The
administration would need his support if they truly want
to succeed.”
It is
nothing but a spinoff of the proxy war between the
President and JDV, she thinks. “It is not a call for
genuine federalism, which should lead to empowerment
from below. GMA’s Cha-cha is meant to consolidate the
support of the President’s local allies to respond to a
threat that emanates from JDV. She is using federalism
as political insurance against JDV and to get the
support of local politicians. We will oppose it.”
The
United Opposition (UNO) said, on the other hand, that
Cha-cha may not be a diversionary tactic but the real
agenda behind the reported payoffs made to lawmakers and
local officials in Malacañang last week.
“Given
the high-profile controversies, the overwhelming
negative sentiment of the people toward her
administration, and the very real prospect of criminal
charges after the 2010 election, the push for Cha-cha is
a final, desperate gambit to stay in power forever,”
said UNO president and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay.
Binay
said the presidential gambit placed the raging
controversy over the reported distribution of “cash
donations” to congressmen and local officials in proper
perspective.
He
added, “With Mrs. Arroyo giving her marching orders, we
can expect the same cast of characters behind the fake
People’s Initiative and the Constituent Assembly to be
more visible in the coming days.” |
