Press Statements of Senator Loren Legarda

On House opposition wary of taking cha-cha to SC

It is understandable if the opposition in the House of Representatives are "wary" of contesting before the Supreme Court the present charter-change (cha-cha) initiative at the Lower House. The thinking is that since the Supreme Court is packed with appointees of President Arroyo, that it would blindly rule in favor of administration cha-cha proponents.

But I have faith that the members of the Supreme Court are men and women of impeccable integrity who will not allow their judicial independence to be compromised. They all want to leave a legacy they can be proud of and they know fully well that history will judge them according to their faithfulness to their mandate.

Any attempt to bypass the Senate in amending the Constitution through the convening of a constituent assembly will fail as our people would have none of it, especially if the intent is to extend the term of the present administration. Let it be said that the Senate will act as one and with resolve on this matter because it cannot take sitting down any attempt by anyone or any group to diminish it as an institution.

On March budget deficit hitting P53 billion

The P53 billion budget deficit recorded last March, the highest monthly deficit ever according to the Department of Finance, is a cause for concern because it means that the government is not able to raise sufficient revenues to support the accelerated spending required to jump-start our weakening economy. The revenue-generating arms of government like the Bureau of Internal Revenues and Bureau of Customs should work doubly hard to meet their target collections. Otherwise, government will be forced to tap into our monetary reserves, which is not good because reserves are supposed to be used only under dire circumstances.

The P52.6 billion deficit is three times higher than the March 2008 deficit. The first quarter deficit of P119.2 billion is already two-thirds of the revised full-year estimate of P199.2 billion deficit for the entire 2009. At the rate government is spending without raising revenues, the next administration coming from the 2010 elections may be left with no or very little budget to work with, if and when the country's reserves are also exhausted.

On global warming being blamed for wet summer

PAG-ASA says that global warming may be to blame for the heavy rains in the Philippines since middle of April. That may be an accurate statement considering that climate change is one of the ill effects of global warming. In my address before delegates of the International Conference on Gender and Disaster Risk Reduction last April 20 in Beijing, I have cited the challenge to reduce disaster risks and to adapt to changing global climate while protecting gender equality.

Governments of the world must be prepared against environmental disasters so as to minimize their toll in lives lost and properties destroyed. There was the strong earthquake in Italy which killed scores of people and devastated an entire community, as well as the one that preceded it, hitting China.