• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of the Diocese of San Carlos has called on leaders of the country to focus on peacebuilding rather than Charter Change.
“We must address the roots of civil unrest and armed conflict in the Philippines. Deep-seated injustices of poverty, landlessness, unemployment, and other inequities wreak havoc in the lives of so many Filipino families. If we work for justice, we can reclaim our journey and rekindle the hope of a peoples’ power,” Alminaza said in a press statement issued in line with the commemoration of the 38th year of EDSA People Power Revolution on Sunday.
“We live today not with nostalgia, but with reverence for all those who struggled against the Marcos dictatorship. We stand on the shoulders of our forebears, like the unwavering Bishop Antonio Y. Fortich of Negros and the unflappable Jaime Cardinal Sin of Manila. We remember the martyrs, often less known, whose resistance against a dictatorship cost them their lives,” he added.
Alminaza said that “the Filipino people must link arms, once more, and insist that peacebuilding is the way forward, not surrendering the sovereignty and patrimony through power-grabbing Charter Change”.
He urged the people to be the “new sea of hope that pours into the streets as a demonstration of the People Power we need today, one that celebrates being multi-faith, multi-colored, and multi-sectoral”.
“Let us rise as an ocean for genuine peacebuilding that struggles for the common good of the Filipino people,” he added.
Under the banner of the People’s Coalition for Democracy Negros (PCDN), about 700 individuals from multi-sectoral groups marched yesterday from the Provincial Capitol Lagoon toward the Bacolod City Plaza, emphasizing the critical need to safeguard the gains of democracy achieved through the Edsa Revolt and a strong indignation towards the railroading of Charter Change.
“Under the guise of economic progress, Cha-Cha poses grave risks to democracy, governance, economic stability, and national identity,” a statement from Bayan Negros said.
“The proposed amendments, particularly the extension of term limits, signal a clear intent to prolong the reign of the Marcos Jr. regime,” PCDN said.
“The proposed Cha-Cha poses significant economic dangers, including the potential selling off of land and services to foreign entities. Allowing 100 percent ownership by foreigners threatens to erode national control over vital resources and infrastructure, exposing the country to exploitation and manipulation by external interests,” they added. | GB
