GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, YOUTH VOW TO UPHOLD GOOD GOVERNANCE; CHALLENGE LAWMAKERS TO OPPOSE CHA-CHA IN THE NAME OF PUBLIC SERVICE

Submitted by courage_phil on Thu, 07/23/2009 - 02:39.

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QUEZON CITY- The Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of
Government Employees (COURAGE) and the Pagdumala, a University of the
Philippines-based organization, held a forum today at the UP National College
of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG) as part of their campaign to broaden
the consciousness of the different sectors about the possible implications of
the Charter Change (Cha-Cha) on the Filipino society.

The partnership was forged to initiate a collective effort of pursuing a
common goal to affect the public of the urgent clamour for genuine social
change. UP Pagdumala, being an organization based in the Philippines’ center
for good governance, has been providing students the venues to become effective
leaders and conscientious public servants. COURAGE, on the other hand, has been
the militant national center of government employees that continues to be
watchdogs of genuine public service.

Among the resource speakers in the forum were COURAGE National President
Ferdinand Gaite, Kabataan Partylist Representative Mong Palatino, Former
Treasurer Leonor Briones and NCPAG Dean Alex Brilliantes. The speakers
presented their standpoints on Cha-Cha.

In the forum, Ferdinand Gaite challenged the lawmakers to oppose Charter
Change in the name of public service. “Good governance and public service have
been a cliché among our lawmakers and bureaucrats. But do they really know the
real essence of these? Cha-cha seeks to lift any constitutional ban on 100%
foreign ownership of the country’s natural resources. This is a gateway for
widespread privatization which will result in the inaccessibility of basic
social services. Is this the kind of public service and good governance that
they have bragging to promote?” stated Gaite.

Meanwhile, Mong Palatino hit the proposal to amend the Constitution as a
form of robbing the youth of their right to education. “If the government
allows 100% foreign ownership on education, we can expect the price of
education to shoot up as if it is a commodity. Presently, the government cannot
even regulate the tuition and other fees of private educational educations. How
much more if these institutions are foreign-owned? Asahan na natin na lalong tataas ang bilang ng drop-out dahil sa mahal
ng presyo na katumbas para makapag-aral,” explained Palatino.

Kabataan Partylist and COURAGE vowed to launch more discussions on
Charter Change to reach out to the most number of Filipino people. “We believe
that we still have a long way to go to educate majority of the Filipinos on why
they have to stand up against Cha-Cha. We are sure that once they are aware of
its negative implications, waves of protesters will storm the streets,” said
Gaite.

Both groups will mobilize in the big rally set during Arroyo’s State of
the Nation Address (SONA) on July 27. Palatino has already announced earlier
his plans to boycott the SONA along with the other seven progressive partylist
representatives. Gaite also declared that government employees will take a
leave from their jobs just to join the rally. #