Press Release
April 13, 2009

Press statements of Senator Chiz Escudero

Last hurrah for Cha-cha is a waste of time

Changing our Charter through a Constituent Assembly, if some members of the lower house will have their way, will only be seen as constitutionally questionable and morally reprehensible.

House Speaker Prospero Nograles will be doing a disservice to himself, the country and the people if he decides to push for Cha-cha now. This last hurrah for Charter Change is a waste of our time and will surely fail.

Congress should instead focus on some important pieces of legislation that need to be passed before we adjourn, like the extension of the agrarian reform law, and other pending measures aimed at cushioning the impact of the global economic crisis on our people.

Transparency is the key to the success of poll automation

With reports of a possibly chaotic and haphazard implementation of automation in the 2010 elections, I urge the Commission on Elections to be more judicious in its actions in ensuring that modernizing our polls would not be at the expense of our democracy.

The proceedings should always be open to public scrutiny so the people can raise a red flag, at any stage of the process, whenever there are questions, even the slightest hint of doubt, about the implementation of the law.

I ask the people to be more vigilant now more than ever as we embark on a journey without precedent in our electoral history. Let it not be said that we failed to do our share in safeguarding the freedoms won, at great sacrifice, by our forebears.

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