Do Not Court EDSA 3

Senator Rodolfo G Biazon today said the passing of House Resolution No. 1109 could lead to a total breakdown of our people's faith in government institutions and institutional processes.

"The danger signals are already beginning to appear. There is now a wide spread expression of opposition to the measure and there is a growing restlessness among significant sectors who are calling for action to defeat this obvious attempt to take a short cut to change the fundamental law."

Biazon said this effort has been done in a manner that is against the basic concept of bicameralism in a democracy.

"It seems that the sectors are ready to take to the streets and trigger chaos. The faith of our people in institutional processes is being put to an extreme test and the breaking point could come when the people believe that the institutional processes as they are being carried out has become a mockery of our democratic beliefs and are no longer serving the interest of the people."

Biazon cautioned, "The oral expression of disgust could easily translate to actions. When this point is reached there is no sufficient number of prosecutors and number of detention cells to prosecute and hold the number of citizens that will be charged with sedition."

Biazon cited, "We have seen this happen in the EDSA Revolution and in EDSA II."

"As a former soldier, I may begin to ask, are these the institutions worth dying for?"

"The people's massive response to this could drive that soldier to invoke their constitutionally mandated duty of protecting the people and the state and take actions to provide a resolution to the controversy, " Biazon also warned.

"THE DANGER IS IF THIS HAPPENS, FOR THE THIRD TIME, THE SOLDIERS MAY NOT ANYMORE BE WILLING TO GIVE BACK POWER TO CIVILIAN AUTHORITY."

"HR 1109 could very well be our constitutional equivalent of 9-11, an attack against out Constitution"

Biazon concluded, "Before the situation becomes any more serious, there is still something that can be done and this is for the proponents in the House of Representatives to withdraw HR 1109 in plenary."