Press Release
March 30, 2009

FEDERALISM PROPOSAL SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR GMA'S
HIDDEN AGENDA

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said Malacañang and its legislative allies should stop riding on the proposal for a federal system of government to pursue their hidden agenda behind the move to amend the Constitution.

Pimentel said no amount of denials by the administration can hide the fact that the obsession of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to keep herself in power beyond 2010 is the underlying motive behind the frantic moves of the administration congressmen to push for the approval of the Charter Change resolution.

He said he did not want the federalism proposal, of which he is the principal advocate, to be manipulated and taken advantage of by the administration for its dubious and self-serving purposes.

The senator from Mindanao said that although a majority of senators have expressed support for Joint Resolution 10, which calls for the convening of Congress into a Constituent Assembly to adopt a federal system government, he is willing to put the proposal in the backburner if only to foil an administration plan to use it as a jumping board for lifting the term limit of elective public officials, including Mrs. Arroyo.

"If that is the price I have to pay to prevent Gloria from exploiting the federalism proposal to perpetuating herself in power, then I am willing to pay that price," Pimentel said.

Actually, he said the President and her legislative allies are more interested in installing a unicameral parliamentary system of government where she hopes to become a prime minister.

The minority leader said they are so desperate at pursuing their fake version of Charter Change that they have gone to the extent of devising a plan wherein the House of Representatives will unilaterally amend the Charter in view of the refusal of the Senate to cooperate with their ill-conceived scheme.

Pimentel said the administration plan will not succeed for the following reasons:

1. Charter Change has been overtaken by the 2010 elections. Even the Palace admits that the country is already in an election mode.

2. Owing to the bicameral structure of Congress, House cannot amend the Constitution without the involvement of the Senate.

3. Even if the issue is elevated to the Supreme Court, it is doubtful whether the justices, including Arroyo appointees, will render a decision that is patently unconstitutional that will destroy their credibility and incite public indignation, if not uprising.

4. Assuming that the House will succeed in amending the Constitution by itself, the Senate will not approve the allocation of any funding for the plebiscite on the amendments.

5. Even assuming that a plebiscite is legally held, the people are expected to repudiate amendments that will allow Mrs. Arroyo to stay in power beyond 2010. This is indicated by the fact that she has consistently received negative net approval ratings in surveys conducted by reputable research institutions. In the February survey of Pulse Asia, she obtained a negative 33 percent satisfaction rating.

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