STATEMENT: Sisters Association of Mindanao says No to ConAss
Justice is both the aim and the intrinsic criterion of all politics.
Politics is more than mere mechanism for defining the
rules of public life: its origin and its goal are found in justice,
which by its very nature has to do with ethics. The State must inevitably
face the question of how justice can be achieved here and now.”
(Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 2005 no. 28).
No to Constituent Assembly!
The Sisters’ Association in Mindanao (SAMIN) reiterates our strongest opposition to the Constituent Assembly. Together with those who oppose Charter Change, we denounce the act of the majority coalition who were allegedly offered additional pork barrel fund allocations in railroading the hasty adoption of House of Resolution 1109, to propose amendments to the Constitution through a constituent assembly (Con Ass) without the participation of the Senate.
This subversion of the people’s sovereign will and the desecration of the Basic Law of the land has once again triggered public anger and protest actions nationwide which includes those from the Roman Catholic Church and other church-based groups and business organizations, as well as the middle classes and cause-oriented movements.
HR 1109 is full of conceit, deceit, and greed. The Filipino people can not be fooled, despite the pledge of the signatories that President Arroyo’s term and those of all incumbent officials will not be extended and/or shortened, and that there will be elections in 2010. It is based on a conceited claim that the majority congressmen are representing the people’s will, when they are following the dictates of Malacanang. It is deceitful of its intent, when in fact it has been proven long before that changing the Charter is really meant to perpetuate Mrs. Arroyo in power, remove protectionist clauses to our national patrimony, and further dilute the people’s rights. It is the sheer greed of Mrs. Arroyo and her loyalists and cronies that is steering this hardheaded move to convene into a Constituent Assembly.
All these not-so-hidden agenda contradict the sovereign power of the people and the challenges of true servanthood in government service to promote common good and protect national interest.
Aside from the emergence of a New Dictatorship, the ConAss and charter change will further open the floodgates to the sell out of our national patrimony through largescale mining, plantations, dams, and other forms of plunder of God’s Creation. Arroyo’s new charter will further legalize the already worsening assaults on the human dignity of our people, and on human rights as seen in massive labor migration, low wages, extrajudicial killings, involuntary disappearances, and other abuses.
We call on the House of Representatives to refrain from convening themselves to a constituent assembly. We call on all public servants to forego selfish interests and be authentic in serving the people. We laud the representatives who did not sign the resolution and call on them to join us in prayer, in the streets, and other avenues of protest where the true parliament of the people reigns.
We call on the people to actively participate in the social transformation of our society particular in opposing the Constituent Assembly and be vigilant, well-informed of the current issues which concerns 1) our national sovereignty, 2) the protection of our national patrimony , and 3) our civil liberties.
We are guided by Church Social Teachings, in exhorting our people to participate in making political choices, electing and holding accountable those who govern them, and of replacing them through peaceful means when appropriate (Centessimus Annus, #11), so thatevery Filipino, regardless of class, tribe, religion or political stand may fully exercise civil liberties and experience the fullness of life from the bounty of a sovereign nation and Creation.
June 8, 2009
For reference:
Sr. Elsa Compuesto, MSM |
