Prepare for financial tsunami, not Cha-Cha, Roxas tells GMA

Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas today urged President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to squelch renewed attempts to tamper with the Constitution by her political allies and to order them instead to help put in place safety nets that will soften the impact on Filipinos of the financial tsunami that has hit major markets in the world.

Roxas dismissed the renewed attempts at Charter Change as untimely and divisive at a time when Filipinos need to see the entire government united and ready to shield them from the impact of the global financial crisis.

“Paulit-ulit na ipinipilit ang Cha-Cha sa atin samantalang namumrublema ang bansa sa darating na krisis sa ekonomiya (They keep on pushing Cha-cha while the rest of the nation worries over looming impact of the economic crisis),” Roxas said.

“Imbes na hatiin na naman ang bansa, ang dapat gawin ni GMA at ng mga kakampi niya ay paghandaan ang magiging epekto ng financial tsunami na parating na sa ating bansa (Instead of dividing the nation, GMA and her allies should prepare the nation for the dire effects of the global financial tsunami),” he added.

Roxas earlier urged President Arroyo to call a multi-party summit so that leaders of administration and opposition parties could sit down and agree to a recasting of the proposed 2009 national budget so that funds can be reallocated to programs that will soften the impact of the global financial crisis.

Roxas, the Liberal Party president, said the Congress and Malacanang should realign programs in the proposed 2009 national budget so that more funds could be allotted to efforts to boost jobs, agricultural production and ensure food security, improve the quality of education and encourage small businesses through micro-lending.

“Nangangamba ang taumbayan na uunahin na naman ng Malacanang at ng mga kakampi nito ang pulitika. Kailangan ipakita ni GMA sa taumbayan na mas mahalaga ang proteksyunan sila sa magiging masamang epekto ng financial crisis (The people are afraid that Malacanang and its allies will give priority to politics as usual. GMA and her allies have to prove they can protect the people from the negative effects of this financial crisis),” said Roxas, chair of the Senate trade and commerce committee.

Roxas is meeting next week with a group of economists and budget experts to consult them on priority programs that the government need to implement to prepare the nation from the impact of the global financial crisis.

The global financial crisis has prompted swift action from the G7 group of developed nations, with US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warning that an “aggressive action plan” was needed to prevent the global economy from sinking further.

This was evident in Wall Street Friday when the Dow Jones plummeted by 700 points immediately upon opening, but recovered by the end of trading day to just down by 128 points. Analysts have noted that the Dow Jones has lost 25 percent of its value just a month ago since the US financial crisis triggered a global debt crunch.

“While the entire world is getting worried increasingly because of the financial crisis, we see administration people dancing to the tune of Cha-cha instead of doing something to assure our people and our industries that the government is prepared to meet the challenges of this global financial crisis,” said Roxas.

“In these times of crisis, we need unity and action, not politics,” he added.

Roxas insisted that the Constitution would only allow for a constituent assembly if this is agreed on by the House and Senate voting separately on the matter. He added that it was a misinterpretation of the intentions of the 1987 Constitutional Commission to say that the House and Senate will vote as one in agreeing to convene a constituent assembly.

“Hinding-hindi pwedeng tumawag ng constituent assembly ang iisang kamara lamang, at ang pagboto rito ay gagawin ng House at Senate nang hiwalay. Kahit sinong constitutional expert ay hindi sasang-ayon na ang mga senador ay may isang boto lamang sa daming miyembro ng Kongreso (A constituent assembly really couldn’t be called for by just one chamber, and the vote of this must be done by the House and Senate separately. Any constitutional expert would disagree that a senator would have just one vote to the many votes in Congress),” he said.