Press Release
June 23, 2009

Press statement of Senator Loren Legarda

ON STATE-OF-THE-NATION

If the allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the House of Representatives would insist on convening a constituent assembly during Arroyo's State-of-the-Nation address it would throw the nation into turmoil. Already protesters from all sectors of society are organizing massive rallies not only against charter change at this time but also against the regime itself.

I thus appeal for rationality. Now is not the time to throw our nation into turmoil in the midst of a global financial crisis that is throwing our country into a recession. Despite the gimmicks of the administration in opening job marts, hundreds of thousands of our labor force are still unemployed. They are desperate to look for jobs to feed their families.

Congress must focus its attention on turning the economy around from recession. The experience of developing nations like Brazil, India and China in maintaining economic growth despite the worldwide recession should inform us that we are not helpless against the global trend. What we need are pluck, determination and imagination. But these cannot be harnessed if the nation is in turmoil.

ON A (H1N1) FLU

The first death in our country due to the A (H1N1) flu is a signal that the government cannot lower its guard down against the pandemic. The health authorities in all levels, from the national to the provincial, municipal and barangay, should be on constant health alert to provide medical and quarantine services to individuals suspected of harboring the HINI virus.

The government should do something to stop the heartless speculation in flu medicines and vaccines. Media reports indicate the price of flu medicines have spiraled in the market because of the demand for them. Pharmaceutical manufacturers and retailers should not be allowed to take advantage of an epidemic to gouge profits from the public.

The national and local governments can declare an emergency that would give them the power to control the prices of flu medicines until normalcy is restored.

ON PRINCESS OF THE STARS TRAGEDY

The filing of criminal charges against the owner and captain of the vessel, Princess of the Stars, came a year after the ship sunk during a strong typhoon off Romblon. This just shows how slow justice is being done in our country. The families of more than 800 persons who perished in the tragedy have been long waiting for justice. For how long they would wait just to get justice done is anybody's guess.

But this great tragedy should serve us another lesson. The big number of sea accidents occurring in our archipelago, especially during the typhoon season, also highlights the decrepit and backward state of our inter-island sea transportation. Most of our inter-island ferries are nothing but overbuilt motorized bancas. The steel ships, if any, are obsolete and poorly maintained. Because of the high cost of airline travel, most inter-island travelers are forced to take sea vessels which are often overloaded and lack safety equipment. There is also an acute lack of bottoms.

It is time that the national government should take stock of our inter-island transport system with a view to their modernization, including better supervision to ensure safety for passengers and prevention of overloading.

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