Credits

Friday, September 01, 2006

Whose Voice Are They Talking About?

Proponents of Cha-Cha will now be at the mercy of the Supreme Court. Lambino believes that with Panganiban at the helm, they will be given a favorable ruling. Speculations of a "script" designed by the administration abound. Lambino asserts that the voice of the people be heard. Is this really the voice of the people? I don't think so.

In my barangay, "kagawads" and other barangay employees went around to gather signatures. No explanations were given nor were any seminars conducted. How on earth would the people know what the signatures were for or what the PI was all about? I did not sign because what was presented to me was more of a survey form than a petition.

My humble interpretation of a true "people's initiative" must come from the people and not some organization obviously allied with the pretender in the palace. ULAP also tainted the integrity of the initiative as they would definitely benefit should the Cha-Cha succeed. We must bear in mind that ULAP is composed of local officials whose tenures are limited. They cannot say that they support this PI as private citizens. Any government official/government institution must not involve with such an initiative. If indeed this PI came from ordinary folks, then we must be all millionaires as this endeavor needs a huge funding to undertake. Travel expenses alone for the proponents would run in the millions. Add the almost hourly ads on different TV networks, one would wonder where all their money comes from.

Aumentado can insist all he wants that he is pushing this initiative as a citizen, but he cannot escape the fact that he is the incumbent governor of Bohol and would be a beneficiary of their proposed amendments. The PI would have been more credible if a farmer, a fisherman or a street vendor started this initiative. Malacanang probably thought that mere assertions would do the job. What they failed to realize was the ordinary folks can see through their flimsy cloak.

Ordinary folks don't even know what kind of animal the PI ni Gloria is. And yet Sigaw asserts that all those who signed knew what they were signing. While the country lacks in social services, the administration continuous to waste money on this initiative. SnB and ULAP insists that the voice of the people be heard, while the true voice of the people had been muffled and silenced by CPR, extra-judicial killings, illegal arrests and arbitrary detention. Whose voices again? Only the voices of the pretender's allies in congress and her legions for Cha-Cha can be heard.