CBCP planning nationwide protest vs constituent assembly

[Zeus]

galing-galing naman....

E kung ganon sa Makati na lang sila, teretoryo ni mayor Binay yun e o sa Edsa Shrine, kontrolado ng simbahang Catholiko itong shrine d ba? at tuluyang EDSA 4 na

[RedHorse]

self serving ang move na ito ng RC... kasi no elections, no endorsement (from all sides) means no money... pag pera na involve, walang ng usapan.. ano? si chavit lang me utak?

[Zeus]

Bishop calls on AFP to join protest vs charter change


By Christian V. Esguerra, Jhunnex Napallacan, Philip Tubeza
Inquirer
Last updated 00:45am (Mla time) 12/12/2006


SAYING the Constitution was being “ravaged by the interest of private individuals,” a Catholic bishop called on the military, on Monday, to support the Church-led prayer rally against efforts by administration lawmakers to overhaul the Constitution.
“Maybe it’s time for the soldiers who were called and sworn to defend the people and the Constitution to listen and join the people,” Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias said in a homily at St. Peter’s Parish Church on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has moved the holding of the prayer rally at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila against the constituent assembly being pushed by the House of Representatives from December 15 to December 17.
Monsignor Pedro Quitorio, CBCP spokesperson, said the rally was reset because the grandstand would be used by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. on December 15.
Quitorio said simultaneous prayer rallies would proceed on December 15 as originally scheduled in the 85 other dioceses outside of the Archdiocese of Manila, the country’s premier see.
Instead of holding rallies, the Catholic Church in Cebu City will hold indoor discussions on Charter change.
The Presbyteral Council of Cebu archdiocese headed by Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal came up with this decision during a meeting held yesterday.
The council said it was supporting the CBCP’s call for widespread discussions and people’s participation before Charter change could be undertaken.
In a resolution signed by Vidal, the council said the discussion should focus on “no to Con-ass, no to postponement of elections, no to martial law or yes to Cha-cha (Charter change) through Con-con (constitutional convention).”
“That means, we will not gather in the streets but, instead, inside the churches, talk about the issue during the Masses. Each priest will say something. And then outside the Masses, there will be meetings within the church organizations and (they will) discuss the issue,” Monsignor Achilles Dakay said.
A group of lawyers could not wait for the rallies on December 17 and took action on Monday against constituent assembly.
Eluding security personnel, the lawyers held a picket inside the Batasan complex in Quezon City where the House is located and called on House leaders to end their “political adventurism” by withdrawing the resolution seeking Congress to convene into constituent assembly starting Tuesday.
More than 30 members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, the Ateneo-based Alternative Law Groups (ALG) and the Counsels for the Defense of Liberties staged the picket outside the House plenary hall.
“The move to change the Constitution through their so-called constituent assembly is nothing more than a tyranny of the House majority,” said ALG convenor Marlon Manuel.
Other protest actions were staged elsewhere on Monday.
Some 200 members of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Southern Tagalog massed in Calamba City in Laguna to join the vigil of other protesters in front of the Batasang Pambansa.
Others gathered in Sta. Cruz in Laguna, Lipa and Batangas cities in Batangas, and Dasmariñas in Cavite for demonstrations and a noise barrage. Some of their placards had images of pigs and bore the names of some pro-Charter change lawmakers.
In his homily, Tobias urged the people to join actions like those spearheaded by the CBCP “because only through this that we will be able to do something right for our country and perhaps, we would cast fear among our leaders.”
“What we are doing is part of our being Christians. People are counting on us,” he said.
At a press conference after the Mass, Tobias said he was expecting the military to express support for the mass actions against efforts to revise the 1987 Constitution.
“Today, the Constitution is being ravaged (by) the interest of private individuals,” he told reporters. “I ask them [soldiers] to help the people.”
Told that he might face a lawsuit from the Arroyo administration, a primary target of his criticisms since last year, Tobias replied: “It’s OK. It’s for the country.”
Tobias earlier courted a government investigation following his admission that he had provided sanctuary to a fugitive, anti-Arroyo soldier in his home in Quezon City.
Quitorio said the CBCP-led prayer rally would proceed despite recent developments that appeared to show that the administration was backtracking on its plan to convene the House of Representatives into a constituent assembly without the participation of the Senate.
Amid the threat of mass actions from the Church and business groups, Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. on Saturday announced that the majority bloc in the House was putting the constituent assembly on hold and was giving the Senate 72 hours from Monday to pass a resolution calling for a constitutional convention.
The senators had ignored De Venecia’s ultimatum. As of press time, De Venecia and his allies had shelved the constituent assembly following the caucus of the House majority on Monday.
Quitorio said the CBCP would not fall for De Venecia’s gambit, which urged the Catholic Church to exert pressure on senators.
“Our position is clear: We don’t need Cha-cha,” he told the Inquirer. “But if it can’t be avoided, it should be done through a constitutional convention. De Venecia is now dangling Con-con, but our feeling is that now is not the time.”
“We have far more pressing problems and our people, especially those in Bicol, are suffering. Cha-cha is not the answer,” he added.
Quitorio said the task of amending the Constitution should fall on a set of leaders enjoying public trust. He said the Arroyo administration seemed deaf to surveys showing its poor trust rating.
To discourage government employees from joining protest rallies, the Department of Justice yesterday issued a memorandum warning them that they can be administratively charged for taking to the streets.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez reminded government personnel of a recent Supreme Court decision saying that government personnel cannot hold “prohibited concerted mass action.”
The high court said the right to strike was not absolute.
“All government employees of all government department and agencies are prohibited from joining mass actions, rallies, protests, strikes and other activities against the government and duly constituted authority,” Gonzalez said.