ang nagpadyon nga problema sa nasud

[isone]

---

tungod bai kay nakasala man sab si GMA. Pareho sab na ni ERAP sa una ang opposition sa una is just after the power also, pero wala nato gibaliwala ang sala ni ERAP kay mao lagi nakasala siya. Karon balibalawon na ba lang ba ang sala ni GMA tungod kay mao lagi ang opposition nag-apas lang sa power?

Bai unsay SALA ni PGMA ??

saba diha oi...! salig ka gisuhulan ka PGMA ! hello garci!

will ingon sila nga wala kono'y balor ang sulod ato. Pero ako jud punto bai kay onsa nga klase nga ebidensiya ang hatagan nimo og hibug-aton? Gitagaan man gani sa mga taw og hibog-aton ang usa lang ka papel nga wala'y klarong sulod. Ngano dili man tagaan og hibog-aton ang ebidensiya ron og atong tan-awon kong onsa ba jud. Dili kay dismiss na lang tungod kay mao lagi ang opposition kay power graber ra... kanos-a man ang opposition wala ga handom nga sila ang ma botang sa pwesto.

Abi nako ang OPPOSITION tigpagawas sa BAHO sa admin ? So tinuod gyud diay na POWER GRABBER sila ?

was it first hand? or pareho ra sa nanggawas ron nga puro ra sab she said... he said...?

Yup its not firsthand ... just like everyone else here in iSTORYA that thinks na NAKADUNGOG sila sa FULL VERSION sa AUTHNTIC na Garci tapes . DIli ang mga gi download ha sa internet .


@ ISONE

Gusto ka ako na lang mo binisaya ? Aron makita ang katag sa imong mga " hinanakit as a TAXPAYER ba " . Imo pa lang to gi KINORIYANO aron kita gyud ang katag ba ... hantod karon sakit gihapon akong boot ngano nakasulti ka ato nako .... lolz !

[s.n.m.p.]

I think ang dako na factor sa problema sa Pilipinas is ang mga lumulupyo .... dali kaau ma STIR sa media , dali kaau mo sakay sa USO , dali kaau mo tuo unsay sulti sa POLITICIAN na IDOL nila , etc . Naa sa mga tao ug wala sa lider nato because mao ra man ni problemaha gumikan pa sa ulitaw pa mga kalolohan nato pero kinsa man ang presidente ato panahuna beh ? Lahi ang presidente but the same attitudes of the citizens of the Republic of the Philippines . Mga ningas cogon , sour grapes , chismoso n chismosa , puro dakdak walay aksyon etc .

Media only reported what is happening. No need to stir. Get a life.

[SPRINGFIELD_XD_40]

Media only reported what is happening. No need to stir. Get a life.

WTH ? Hantod karon inclined gihapon kaau ka sa accuracy sa MEDIA ? I think u are the one who needs to get a life . LOLZ ... I am well off and I am living the life a lot of people can only dream of . Thats why there are also camps sa media that are PRO and ANTI . Pastilan niom dodong .... if no need to stir ... BUSINESS is BAD .

[misfit]

Media only reported what is happening. No need to stir. Get a life.

WTH ? Hantod karon inclined gihapon kaau ka sa accuracy sa MEDIA ? I think u are the one who needs to get a life . LOLZ ... I am well off and I am living the life a lot of people can only dream of . Thats why there are also camps sa media that are PRO and ANTI . Pastilan niom dodong .... if no need to stir ... BUSINESS is BAD .

let's not be personal na lng. if ur doing well, good for u.

going back...

innocent until proven guilty. mao na si PGMA. si Erap proven na man to, so let's not compare them.

unsa kaha noh. why not just let her work and prove herself for the remainder of her term, instead of ipagdiinan jud ang impeachment. magsugod na sad sa una. and no guarantee pa na ang ipuli maayo.

[FK]

innocent until proven guilty. mao na si PGMA. si Erap proven na man to, so let's not compare them.

pareho pa man sila innocent until proven guilty... kay wala pa may verdict from the court.

[JoRed]

SPECIAL REPORT
After Luisita, Now It’s Sugarlandia
Negros farmers groups demand similar SDO cancellation
First of two parts
After Tarlac City, Negros sugarlandia is bracing for peasant rumblings as demand has been raised for the cancellation of the stock distribution scheme (SDO) in several plantations. Negros has the most number of SDOs which, farmers groups say, have made them forever landless.

By Karl G. Ombion and Ranie Azue
Bulatlat

BACOLOD CITY – The recent decision of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) revoking the 14-year-old stock distribution option (SDO) of Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac City in Central Luzon has opened the floodgates to renewed demands by farmers for the cancellation of SDOs in several sugar plantations in Negros Island, central Philippines.

MISERABLE STILL: Farmworkers like
them remain poor after decades of SDO schemes in large sugar plantations.

CIRMS PHOTO


Of the 13 SDOs that virtually exempted big sugar landholdings throughout the country from the 1987 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), nine are in Negros Occidental. Of these, nine are in Negros Occidental. The other SDOs are, aside from Tarlac, in Iloilo in central Philippines, and Davao in the south.

True enough, following the recent cancellation of the SDO scheme of Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) owned by the powerful Cojuangco-Aquino family in Tarlac by DAR, the DAR-Negros is undertaking a summary review of all SDOs and related land arrangements, especially in Negros.

Manuel Velasco, Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer 1 (PARO) of Negros Occidental, admitted that his office has been swarmed by queries and complaints from agrarian reform beneficiaries with many of them saying they also have their right to get the lands they have been tilling for years.

“I am not surprised by these reactions,� Velasco told Bulatlat. “I can understand the desire of the farmers to own the lands they till. But they have to go through the process. So we’re reviewing all SDOs.�

Corporations

Five of the nine SDOs covering 542 hectares with 472 beneficiaries all planted with sugarcane are owned by Arsenio Acuna Agricultural Corporation, Elenita Agricultural Development Corp., Hacienda Elenita, Barangay (village) Burgos, Cadiz City; Archie Fishpond Inc., Hacienda Pag-asa, Barangay Luna, Cadiz City; Tabigue Marine Ventures Inc., Hacienda Tabigue, Barangay Tabigue, EB Magalona, Negros Occidental.; Ma. Clara Marine Ventures Inc., Brgy Calumangan, Bago City; and Palma-Kabankalan Agri Corp, Hacienda Palma, Ilog town, Negros Occidental.

The others are Ledesma Hermanos Agricultural Corp., Hacienda Fortuna, Brgy Buluangan, San Carlos, Negros Occidental, owned by former Rep. Julio A. Ledesma, with 1,024 has., 747 beneficiaries; Wutrich Hermanos Inc., Hacienda Sto. Tomas, Barangay Buenavista, Calatrava, Negros Occidental, owned by Otto Weber Jr., 174 hectares, 177 beneficiaries; SVJ Farms Inc., Hacienda Anita, Barangay Concepcion, Talisay City, Negros Occidental, owned by Ma. Regina M Villanueva, 170 hectares, 144 beneficiaries; and the NAJALIN Agri Ventures Inc., Hacienda Najalin, Brgy Nagasi, La Carlota, Negros Occidental, owned by Rudolph E. Jularbal and Joaquin G. Teves, with 438 hectares, 273 beneficiaries.

Aside from the 13, Velas said another SDO is in Negros Oriental owned reportedly by the Teves family. He gave no further details.

Hunger is the lot of this Negros farm worker in his decrepit dwelling place, despite the promises of the SDO scheme. CIRMS PHOTO


The nine SDO farms in Negros Occidental have a total area of 2,348 hectares, with 1,813 agrarian reform beneficiaries. Six of these have been in existence since 1991, the other three since 1992.

Referendum
Asked by Bulatlat why Negros has the most number of SDOs, Velasco said the nine in Negros Occidental were the fastest in complying with the requirements set by the DAR. He said agrarian reform beneficiaries voted for the SDO in a referendum and then signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the landowner. (In Tarlac, farm workers unions said they were pressured and cajoled by the Cojuangco-Aquino family to vote for the referendum.)

However, peasant groups led by the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP – Peasant Movement in the Philippines) have denounced the SDO, which was attached to the CARP by President Corazon Aquino in 1990, as an instrument allowing landlords to keep huge landholdings while tenant farmers remain landless.

Indeed, as Velasco said, under the SDO qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries do not get the land but are given only stock certificates, with corresponding monetary value and yearly dividends from the company’s net earnings.

He also confirmed complaints of farm workers in some SDO-covered farms saying that while they are supposed to be part-owner of the corporation, they do not actually own the farms, and are not part of any corporate decision-making.

These reinforced, Velasco added, the growing opposition of the farm workers toward the SDO.

Agrarian reform beneficiaries interviewed by Bulatlat confirmed the miserable situation of the farm workers under SDO, as experienced by their counterparts in Tarlac.

At the SVJ Farms, for instance, agrarian reform beneficiaries who asked not to be named said that they receive low wages but not clear dividends. Their supposed profit sharing is never honored by the landowner either. Contrary to the MoA, they receive no rice subsidy or housing support, among others, they also said.

Over at Hacienda Palma, farm workers complained of similar problems. At most, they said, they only receive PhP 500 for every person per year as dividend.

JVA, another name for SDO scheme
Aware of the visible failures of the SDO scheme, Velasco batted for a better option for agrarian reform beneficiaries - the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) scheme – used by former Ambassador Eduardo “Danding� Cojangco, Jr. for his ECJ Farms, Inc.

As a modified version, Velasco said, JVA is more beneficial to the farm workers compared to other existing SDOs. Under it, although the lands are retained by the landowner (ECJ) the farm workers under the cooperative earn a bigger share in profit compared to those in farms covered by SDO, he said.

However, ECJ Farms beneficiaries earlier interviewed by Bulatlat insisted that Cojuangco has only used the corporative scheme to make it appear that agrarian reform has been implemented. Fact is, they said, ECJ remains very much in feudal hands and its cooperative, the ECJ Farms Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi-Purpose Cooperative, as a farce controlled by Cojuangco’s own people.

Lawyer Ben Ramos, executive director of Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Group Inc. (PDG), said that the public are misled to believe through media hype that ECJ landholdings have been distributed, that the farmworkers are now freed from feudal bondage, and are now enjoying a better life.

Requests for SDO cancellation
Meantime, farm workers of Hacienda Palma, Najalin Agri Ventures Inc., Ma. Clara Marine Ventures Inc., and SVJ Farms have reportedly asked DAR-Negros to fast-track the cancellation of their SDOs and move instead for land distribution.

Velasco explained however that DAR cannot directly intervene in the implementation of SDO and hence, its cancellation, without any written request from the beneficiaries.

Violent confrontations feared in Negros
Ealier, Richard Sarrosa, chairman of KMP-Negros told Bulatlat that what happened to HLI in Tarlac may also happen to the farmers and farmworkers in Hacienda Balatong and other SDO farms in Negros because “the elements of land control, deceptions, and the suppression of agrarian reform beneficiaries’ right to land, are deeply intertwined.�

Sarrosa said that “the Cojuangcos in Negros may appear benign and philanthropic because of their enormous donations and pledges to civic actions, schools, teachers, and church programs, but they cannot hide their dirty hands as far as records of repression in their land properties are concerned.�

Cojuangco’s security guards, reportedly in cahoots with the military and members of the RPA-ABB have been linked by farmers groups and rights watchdogs to the massacre of children spider hunters as well as to land expansion schemes in Negros. Bulatlat / With CIRMS News Service

Negros: A Bastion of Landlord Resistance

[JoRed]

To evade land reform, Negros plantation owners together with local executives and land reform officials have devised various schemes. All these enflamed cane farm workers even more.

By Karl G. Ombion and Ranie Azue
Bulatlat



Under the farcical distribution scheme known as the SDO, landlords retain
vast tracts of sugar plantations. CIRMS PHOTO

BACOLOD CITY - The history of landlord resistance to agrarian reform has never been more pronounced than in Negros Island.

In the 1980s, the peasants and farm workers-based revolutionary movement and the militant struggles of National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW) for lands alarmed the ruling elites in the region.

This prompted the Bitay Lacson-Coscolluela administration in Negros to implement at that time a 60-30-10 scheme: retention of 60 percent of lands in Negros for sugar production, 30 percent for diversified commercial crops, and 10 percent for so-called land transfer program through voluntary offer to sell, voluntary land sharing, temporary land use, contract growing and management contract.

Other similar schemes were the Sixto K. Roxas “Salvapulbamur Scheme� that wanted to promote the district-size Economic Development Management System as mere key production areas for commercial crops for exports; the Provincial Government-Philippine National Bank Scheme of “Negros Land for a Productive Life Program (NLPLP),� a socio-economic program without land transfer; and the Ed Locsin’s model of “Voluntary Land Sharing� and encouragement of peasants-landlords cooperative partnership projects backed by government and foreign funding assistance.

All these proved futile however as no actual land transfer took place. The peasants’ discontent only grew even more.

Under Aquino’s CARP, landlords’ resistance to agrarian reform has intensified all the more. Reportedly in connivance with the powers that be, big landowners were able to carry out land reform evasion schemes such as the leaseback scheme, buy-back Scheme, land use conversion, Community-based Forestry Management Contract, Foreshore Lease Agreement, contract growing scheme, SDO and now, JVA.

Contrary to DAR claims of high accomplishments in land distribution in Negros, a closer scrutiny of its actual land distribution as of 2004 reveals a measly 15 percent of its total targets of 246,465 hectares. Even DAR’s compulsory acquisition of commercial farms/plantations of 50 has. and above, which should have started in 1998, has covered a dismal 656 has. most of which are bank-foreclosed lands anyway.

Another irony is the fact that of 153,650 has. of sugarlands marked by DAR Task Force Sugarland for land distribution, only 26,992 has. of sugarlands are actually covered in Negros Occidental, the bastion of landlord monopoly, while 126,658 has. are in Negros Oriental.

Today, of the 1.33 million has. total land area of Negros, 818,991.026 has. are under private control. Of these, some 618,991 has. are controlled by 46,574 landowners; about 200,000 has comprising 101 has. and above are controlled by 486 families only. This practically placed around two-third of Negros lands are under private monopoly control.

It is not surprising therefore that the big landlords and big sugar planter-miller-traders have been fiercely opposing any agrarian reform implementation in sugarlandia. They have always insisted for the continuous consolidation of bigger lands and sugar farms into sustainable economic units.

According to a PSMA (Philippine Sugar Millers Association) leader, a viable economic size unit must retain at least 70 has. Less than that is not profitable anymore especially if one thinks “globally,� he said. Bulatlat / With CIRMS News Service

[SPRINGFIELD_XD_40]

let's not be personal na lng. if ur doing well, good for u.

It might sound personal for you but it was meant that anybody can achieve something through their hardwork and competence and not being a CRYBABY . Wala magsalig or magpalaban or basulon si PGMA if ur life is a mess . Thats the whole point.

unsa kaha noh. why not just let her work and prove herself for the remainder of her term, instead of ipagdiinan jud ang impeachment. magsugod na sad sa una. and no guarantee pa na ang ipuli maayo.

APurado lage kaau ang OPPOSITION CAMP .... gipa nindot na term for ERAPS GALAMAY'S .

[JoRed]

Gas, power prices to surge Nov. 1

By Riza Recio
Wednesday, 10 19, 2005


The nation is in for a painful Halloween treat from the Arroyo government with substantial increases in fuel and electricity prices likely on Nov. 1 after the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday lifted a freeze order on the expanded value added tax (e-VAT) law.

Gas prices will increase between P3.50 and P4 per liter next month placing the average price of fuel products to P40 per liter and electricity bills will rise 52 centavos per kilowatt hour, or about P100 more for bills of an average household using 200 kilowatts of electricity a month.

Oil and utility companies are still determining the actual increases as of press time.

The increases would likely exceed 10 percent, which is the e-VAT rate, because of the 70 percent cap on the input VAT that businesses can credit from e-VAT payments.

The Department of Finance (DoF) said the government is now drafting the implementing rules and regulations on the e-VAT with a target date of Nov. 1 for the law's full implementation.

Finance Secretary Marga-rito Teves said the law should take effect on Nov. 1 to allow government to generate at least P4 billion and a maximum of P5 billion before the end of the year.

A final version of the implementing rules and

regulations on the e-VAT is expected to be announced within the week to allow the law to proceed by next month.

Last Sept. 1, the court upheld the constitutionality of the statute, which expands VAT coverage to include previously exempt sectors such as power generation and petroleum products but left an earlier freeze order in place pending further challenge.

Teves said the reduction in excise tax on petroleum products to three from five percent will cushion the impact of the 10 percent sales tax on fuel.

He estimates that the total increase on fuel to be not more than 8 percent of current prices.

Teves added diesel pump prices should not increase by more than 2.5 percent while power rates should not increase by more than eight percent.

He said airline fares, which would also rise, should not cost by more than 10 percent.

The VAT on oil products was estimated to account for P30 billion of the P82 billion additional VAT colllections next year, while P6.2 billion more would be raised from the power generating sector.

Just last Saturday, oil companies raised fuel prices by an average of 50 centavos per liter and by P1 per kilogram on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Prices before yesterday's e-VAT implementation were P36.50 a liter for premium gasoline and P35.50 for unleaded gas.

Diesel sold at an average of P32.50 per liter.

Arnel Ty, president of the LPG Marketers Association of the Philippines, said consumers should also expect the almost weekly price increases on LPG products until December.

Ty, however, said even if LPG price cuts materialize, these will take place next year.

He added with the recent movement of contract prices for LPG overseas, the local market should expect to see an 11-kg cylinder selling for as much as P500 each in certain areas of the country.

An 11-kg cylinder of LPG sells at between P465 and P485 at present.

The Department of Energy (DoE) said the actual impact of the e-VAT implementation will vary from one gas station to another due to competition under a deregulated market.

The DoE has recommended to the Cabinet-level Tariff and Related Matters Committee the drafting of an executive order that will reduce the five percent import duty on petroleum products to three percent, while LPG will be exempt from duty.

It said it is working with power distributors particularly the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) for a progressive billing system on electricity consumption through reforms in the lifeline rate structure that will mean big power users will bear the brunt of price increases.

Petroleum dealers, meanwhile, said due to the 70 percent cap on input VAT, pump prices may increase by up to P6 per liter against a P2.30 to P2.50 increase without the cap.

Since July 1, the peso has devalued and the price of petroleum in the world market had increased futher aggravating the burden brought about by the 70 percent cap, the petroleum dealers said.

The dealers earlier filed a motion for reconsideration with the high court on the e-VAT law's imposition on fuel products, asserting that for dealers, majority of whom have nominal margins, the cap would be unjust and arbitrary and confiscatory.

Many will have a bleak Christmas, House Minority Leader Francis Escudero said, referring to the impact of the e-VAT on fuel and power rates.

“This is an automatic 10 percent increase on fuel, so if unleaded gasoline sells for P36 per liter now, that would go up to P39.60 before the end of the year, which is just a few centavos shy of P40,� Escudero added.

He said the price increases on fuel and power will translate to multiple layers of increases on basic commodities.

Malacañang has warned that the government is ready to quell protest rallies that it said it expects to result from the lifting by the SC yesterday of a freeze order on the expanded value added tax law, supposedly the centerpiece of President Arroyo's economic policy and efforts to end the country's chronic budget deficit.

“We're already prepared to face massive street demonstrations (by the) people who are opposed to this tax (e-VAT)... we're prepared for it,� Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said during a chance interview.

Ermita, at the same time, hinted that the calibrated preemptive response (CPR) or the no-permit, no-rally policy would be strictly enforced by the police against those opposing the tax measure. (See related story)

He stressed that the government seriously needs the e-VAT law to generate money, which, Ermita said, would be returned to the people in terms of social services.

The President's aide said Mrs. Arroyo was delighted that the high tribunal finally lifted a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the implementation of the e-VAT law.

The TRO was issued last July 1.

“Yes, she (the President) is very happy... of course. This is a welcome development because we can finally implement it as soon as possible. This e-VAT (law) would be a very good help, it would address our deficit problem,� Ermita pointed out, referring to the more than P200-billion budget deficit that is expected to hit the Arroyo administration this year.

Earlier, the high court ordered Malacañang to comment on the motions for reconsideration filed by the minority lawmakers and Bataan Gov. Enrique Garcia seeking to stop the implementation of the law.

Last Sept. 19, it extended the TRO after party-list Partido ng Manggagawa filed a motion for reconsideration against the expanded sales tax.

Garcia explained that the e-VAT law placed a 70 percent cap on input credits in favor of companies.

The cap, he said, would only guarantee the government three percent in taxes.

Garcia added if the SC would sustain its ruling in favor of the implementation of the law, this will “punish consumers by way of higher prices of goods vis-Ã*-vis percentage tax.â€�

He proposed that instead of the 10-percent VAT, the government should adopt a three-percent tax on gross.

The new law is seen to bring in an estimated P28 billion this year, and some P105 billion next year largely from the imposition of sales tax on oil products and electricity service. Sherwin C. Olaes, Benjamin B. Pulta, Dona Policar and Jun P. Yap/With AFP

[JoRed]

Jesuits back oust-GMA calls


Friday, 10 21, 2005

The Society of Jesus (SJ) in the Philippines has practically joined calls from various opposition groups for President Arroyo to step down from office, citing the search for truth behind allegations of electoral fraud and other “serious charges� against her has been obstructed by the Chief Executive herself when, in particular, she effectively railroaded impeachment complaints against her through her congressional allies.

In “Guidelines in a Time of Crisis� to Jesuits, Jesuit communities and Jesuit apostolic institutions of the Philippine province, the Province Commission on the Social Apostolate (PCSA), which had produced the document, said they “respect� the decision of those who have judged that Mrs. Arroyo “should not re-main in office.�

The PCSA's statement forms part of the No. 4 guideline that also recommends looking for “alternatives� to the incumbent President who will defuse the power fight among “elite and corrupt politicians.�

The document, which the society made available last Oct. 10 and has since been endorsed by SJ Provincial Daniel Patrick Huang, contains nine guidelines.

In his cover letter, Huang said the guidelines are “an attempt to provide Christian moral reflection on our present national situation of political crisis and confusion.�

The SJ Provincial, however, clarified that the guidelines are “not presented as positions that all are compelled to accept and adhere to.�

“If some, in conscience, differ with the positions taken here, let that dissent be presented with civility and intelligence, as input for the continuing task of communal discernment toward that which will serve the true good of our country,� Huang said.

The nine guidelines follow:

1. The struggle to bring out the truth must go on. The freedom to advocate this struggle must be upheld. The President has not sufficiently rendered an account to the people where serious charges have been raised against her, and efforts to hide the facts only confirm the suspicions of many. To dismiss the concern for truth in the name of stability is to condone the culture of impunity, by which those in power have long been able to commit crimes unpunished, and our people have become cynical – accepting corruption and deceit as normal in our public life.

2. Those who claim that the “rule of law� was triumphant in the recent impeachment proceedings confuse proceduralism with law. While it is true that the procedures of law were fulfilled, the spirit of the law was subverted. Evidence was not allowed to emerge.

3. Peaceful and legal means that protect and strengthen our democratic institutions must be used in the continued search to bring out the truth. In this same spirit, the legislature, especially the Senate, must not be remiss in its oversight functions, to ensure the system of checks and balances set in place by the Constitution. Likewise, care should be taken that concrete actions do not support or strengthen groups with covert anti-democratic, adventurist or power-grabbing agenda.

4. We respect the decision of those, who in conscience have reached a judgment that the President should not remain in office. Part of this process is the moral obligation to seriously consider alternatives that will be truly for the good of the country, and not abet the struggle for power among elite and corrupt politicians.

5. The search for the truth must include a search into the deeper truth of Philippine political life, the factors which make the present crisis just one of a series of political crises that hinders the country's development. It is necessary to listen to, reflect seriously on and address the concerns of a large majority of people who seem apathetic or whose dissatisfaction does not seem to translate into political action. Some, for example, have lost trust in all politicians, of whatever camp. Others, especially those in the provinces, feel excluded by and resentful of what they perceive to be Manila deciding for the country again. Efforts must be made to address this disillusionment and sense of exclusion, so that our people might be motivated to participate more vigorously in our country's political life.

6. If many of our people seem to be uninvolved or uninterested, it is primarily because of an overriding concern for economic survival during very hard times. The real and urgent concerns of the poor should be given highest priority amid all efforts to search for truth. Indeed, the search for the truth is integrally linked to the fate of the poor. Corruption and dishonesty have made the lot of the poor worse.

7. Programs and initiatives from both government and the private sector to address the urgent needs of the poor, in fields such as education, health, housing, livelihood, and the like, should continue to be supported, and indeed intensified. This is especially urgent in view of the looming international oil crisis.

8. While there may be reasons to consider amending the Constitution for the sake of greater responsiveness to the needs and aspirations of our people, Charter change as a diversionary tactic in times of political conflict, or as a means of perpetuating elite democracy, should be rejected. Thus, the rush to change the Constitution, especially through a Constituent Assembly, should be resisted.

Furthermore, while major constitutional changes such as parliamentarism and federalism may seem to have merit, their concrete realization and implications should be carefully studied and discussed, rather than prematurely decided upon.

9. There may be no clear solutions or exit strategies to our present state. But our past history, especially during the martial law years, reminds us that we can continue being vigilant and work for truth and justice even when the alternatives are not clear. Thus, the following courses of action should be pursued:

a. Our educational institutions, parishes and other institutions should become centers for conscientization. Discernment groups must be organized, to combat apathy, to heighten awareness and involvement and to prepare for future action. We echo the call of the CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines) in their statement of July 10, 2005, to “urge our people in our parish and religious communities, our religious organizations and movements, our Basic Ecclesial Communities to come and pray together, reason, decide and act together always to the end the will of God prevail in the political order.�

b. Conscientization that leads to organizing and reorganizing base groups and forming community or sectoral organizations should be given priority. Such groups can also be invited to deal with local problems, to engage local government and to do network-building with other sympathetic groups.

c. These and other groups should be mobilized toward vigilance, monitoring:

· first, the continued effectiveness of government programs for the poor; · second, appointment to public offices made by the President;· third, acts of apparent retribution against those who are critical of the government and the President;· fourth, the actual use of “pork barrel� by legislators and their possible abuse of it for themselves;· fifth, the preparations for forthcoming electoral exercises, through advocacy for automation, and the continuing task of voters' education; · sixth, the use of funds that will be made available in the event of a peace agreement in Mindanao.

d. Deeper study and reflection on institutional alternatives (such as parliamentarism, federalism, etc.) should be conducted at various levels, from university think tanks to grassroot groups.