Bloggers Says No to ConAss

Bloggers have shown their disgust over recent moves to amend the Constitution of the Philippines through a Cyber Protest vs ConAss called for by Bloggers Kapihan and other groups. Here is the article by E. Eder at The Manila Blog Times

A day before President Gloria Arroyo’s state of the nation address, Bloggers Kapihan and Facebook group Pilipinas Kontra ConAss led a blog action day against House Resolution 1109, which seeks to convene Congress into a constituent assembly.

The House of Representatives adopted the resolution last July 3.

Bloggers Kapihan compiled a list of bloggers who participated in the blog action day:

 

• {caffeine_sparks}: Cyberprotest Blogaction Day against Conass
• adarna’s attic: A Legacy of Bribes, Betrayal and Blatant Corruption
• Alleba Politics: Blog Action Day 2009: No To Con-Ass
• ang lungga ng babaeng otes: Hihikab ka lang ba sa bahay mo? o Hihiyaw na…
• Ang Sa Wari Ko: Blog Action Day: No To Charter Change! #conass
• as is: BAD Day for Gloria in HK
• ch_ar_me: Dahil dapat lang na manindigan ako.
• Digiputz.com: Nothing short of humiliating
• Digital Manila: Blog Action Day for Real Change & SONA 2009
• ederic@cyberspace: Bakit nga ba ayaw natin sa #conass?
• Filipino Voices: Remembering ConAss
• inghinyero.com: Blog Action Day: ConAss My Ass
• JuanDerPul PINOY: Blog Action Day: No To ConAss
• kamalayan: (15.) do bad against con-ass!
• Lakan’s Blog: In Support to Blog Action Day 2009 – Condemn Con-Ass!
• Manual to Lyf: Blah Blah Blogs: Ayoko ng Chacha! hmph!
• MenardConnect.com: July 26, 2009 is Blog Action Day
• MGA KATHANG KATOTOHANAN: Break through the Wall
• New Philippine Revolution: No to CON-ASS in SONA
• Newz Around Us: We Join the Cyberprotest, Blog Action Day vs. #conass
• Pagod Ka Na Bang Maging Si Juan?: Pagod Na si Juan sa Con-Ass!
• Radical Pinoy: “Conasse” means…
• The Four-eyed Journal: Blog Action Day: No to #conass
• The Marocharim Experiment: Enough
• The Philippines and Beyond: Cyberprotest, Blog Action Day vs. #con-ass
• tonyocruz.com: Bring it on, Mrs. Arroyo. Filipinos raring to kick your #conass.
• Topics of surprising obscurity and variety of other small concerns…: NO to Constitutional Assembly !!

———–

wawam:

at the time HR 1109 early part of june, we ran a similar campaign – a call to pinoy blogs and bloggers to link blogs on Con-Ass HR 1109 . that effort yielded at least 103 blogs.

70% oppose Cha-Cha to extend PGMA’s term; 55% believe GMA behind cha-cha

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s Plan B – 2009 MARTIAL LAW?

Plan A is cha-cha. but Plan A has been rejected so many times that it already had a few versions –  Plan A-1, Plan A-2 up to Plan A-1098 and each attempt have been rejected.

we are now talking of just 9 months to go before 2010 presidential elections, Plan A-xxx although still alive may now be viewed with much suspicion if it truly has legs. 

when all else fails and Plan A-xxxx is done and still dies, time to go to Plan B – Martial Law! shall we see one of the secretaries of arroyo faking an ambush attempt very soon? for sure that arroyo secretary must be having serious talks with senator enrile for tips on how best to do it.

 

 

HIGH-STAKES POLITICAL STRATEGY
Think tank cites risk of martial law return

 

By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:55:00 03/09/2009

MANILA, Philippines—The chances of Charter change (Cha-cha) preempting the 2010 presidential election are slim, but there are risks of another “less peaceful route,” such as a temptation to return to martial law, US-based think tank Global Source warns.

Assuming that the 2010 Philippine presidential election will push through, any candidate from a unified opposition will likely get an overwhelming victory, Global Source predicted in a March 5 report titled “Down to the Wire.”

“With much at stake for those hoping to stay in power, aggressive action up until the time when Cha-cha becomes impossible to pull off, or right up to the scheduled 2010 elections, cannot be discounted,” it said.

“Clearly, this is a high-stakes strategy with attendant political risks,” said the report, written by Filipino economists Romeo Bernardo and Margarita Gonzales.

Global Source noted in its report that at least one highly placed military official and a few former military men were now talking of possible attempts to impose martial law, which President Ferdinand Marcos used to extend his rule in 1972.

read in full: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090309-193082/Think-tank-cites-risk-of-martial-law-return

move to oust chief justice – part of over-all plan for term extension?

Puno: Keep off judiciary

Kampi solons may back impeachment

By Norman Bordadora, Gil C. Cabacungan Jr., Christine Avendaño
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:01:00 01/12/2009

MANILA, Philippines—Chief Justice Reynato Puno wants politicians to spare the Supreme Court from partisan manipulation, the court’s spokesperson told the Philippine Daily Inquirer Sunday amid reports of a brewing threat to impeach him.

“The court and its magistrates as dispensers of justice should be shielded, if not totally excluded from political maneuverings,” lawyer Midas Marquez said in a text message that he said he sent “in behalf of the Chief Justice.”

The threat to remove Puno from his post is reportedly tied to the Supreme Court’s alleged non-promulgation of a decision disqualifying an incumbent House member despite the concurrence in mid-2008 of 14 justices.

An impeachment complaint against the Chief Justice could come from the political party of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi).

Kampi is set to hear out details of the disqualification case against Negros Oriental Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong, who is accused of not being a natural-born Filipino citizen.

read in full here: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090112-182750/Puno-Keep-off-judiciary

 

first week of january 2009, newspaper reports had it that the cha-cha move has been resurrected in

congress. now, this one.

 it looks like malacanang has launched the final push for the plan to install arroyo as president for life if not term extension through cha-cha.the presidential election is scheduled in 2010, this year is the last chance to get it done. in fact, we think they have only until june 2009 to get it done. anytime after june 2009 is too late for anything.

it makes sense that malacanang will remove puno from the SC. the SC under puno has given malacanang a string of decisions that did not favor malacanang. removing puno and replacing him with the real thing will ensure that if the cha-cha move pushes through, the SC with the appointed “real thing” chief justice will approve it.

are we just being paranoid or is this a real plan?

con-ass proponents are like rapists – cardinal rosales

when cardinal rosales took over as archbishop of manila, the country and most specially civil society gave a collective ho-hum. some mourned. for good reason – rosales replaced the hugely popular and well-loved cardinal jaime sin.

cardinal sin is known for his wit and intelligence and above all, his activism in philippine political and national life. he is largely credited for the beginnings of the People Power Revolution that removed ferdinand marcos in 1986.

nobody will forget that day. people were just starting to gather in EDSA, then over the radio cardinal sin asked catholics to get out of their homes and proceed to isetan in cubao, the starting point for a march towards camp crame edsa for the people to protect camp crame and camp aguinaldo. the rest is history.

that kind of involvement is something everyone knew rosales will not give. and true enough, upon his installation in the highest position in the philippine catholic church, he simply disappeared into nowhere saying nothing about what was happening to the country. all of a sudden the archdiocese of manila turned silent, the exact opposite of what it was before. not only that, he instructed priests and bishops not to meddle in political affairs.

that was rosales then, but the rosales that we hear now is very, very different.

the bishops and now being led by rosales have been very vocal about the cha-cha and con-ass, the move by arroyo supporters to change the constitution to enable a term extension that can mean arroyo will install herself as president for life of the philippines.

cardinal rosales has transformed himself. and his latest statement to describe allowing the congressmen to form themselves into a con-ass to amend the constitution : “It’s like entrusting your teenage daughter in the care of a rapist.”

that statement is just one of many signs, words said, rallies organized and movements led that is pointing to a more active involvement of catholic bishops in national issues.

welcome, cardinal rosales. i am sure cardinal sin is smiling in heaven.

Cardinal: Con-ass backers like rapists

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:13:00 12/19/2008

MANILA, Philippines—Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales has expressed what may yet be his sharpest rebuke of administration lawmakers pushing a constituent assembly (Con-ass) to amend the 1987 Constitution.

“It’s like entrusting your teenage daughter in the care of a rapist,” Rosales told reporters. “I’m sorry for the analogy, but you get the idea.”

The cardinal said it would not be prudent to allow certain members of the House of Representatives to perform the task of Charter change because of their vested interests including “political dynasties.”

He added: “[There] is a danger of extending [the term of] the present administration and those who are occupying positions [in it] down to the last office.”

But Rosales, who now holds the prelature from which the late Jaime Cardinal Sin called on the people to overthrow two presidents, indicated the Catholic hierarchy’s support for “improving the Constitution.”

read in full here: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20081219-178769/Cardinal-Con-ass-backers-like-rapists

cha-cha danger: underestimating consumer sentiments

in consumer marketing, when you do something new to your brand like a new ad, a new flavor or a new perfume you worry about two things, almost of equal importance – consumer preference or rejection and absence of negatives.

these things you find out through consumer research. doing research is very important as you don’t want to launch something that consumers will not like or something that will not build more business for you. launching it, then failing is a waste of investment and a blackeye to the brand.

the first one, consumer preference or rejection is very straight forward.  the research will tell you if whatever new thing you plan to launch is liked or not liked by consumers.

the last one, though a risky thing to do, you lanuch the new thing when there is an absence of negatives. for sure if you have a high negatives, it will eventually bite you. it might not make itself known at the start but it might eventually build up and accumulate to something larger than the positive that it will over-power it.

that is the risk that the pro cha-cha groups are taking. while the protest rally was not as large, it’s reckless to read just the numbers. most of consumer sentiments on political issues, unlike in consumer marketing, are latent. the vaunted “silent majority” is very real. 

there is   no such thing as silent majority in consumer marketing. consumer research in consumer marketing if done well pull these types of consumers out. they are never silent, they are always vocal.

these latent or hidden sentiments can  be called to surface fairly quickly. and once called, it cannot be stopped. this is a country who has done two people power revolutuons, doing a third one will be easy.

the administration congressmen have declared cha-cha thtough con-ass has been abandoned. given the obsession and persistence of arroyo in extending her term of office, con-ass as a way to do cha-cha may for now be shelved, but there are other ways to do it. and it’s almost sure, just like in the past, they will try again but in anther form.

consumers or the electorate has spoken many times before on cha-cha. and the voice says the same thing – they don’t want it. when will the administration finally listen to it?  

 

Analysis
Con-ass bid in House derailed

 

By Amando Doronila
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:43:00 12/15/2008

 

MANILA, Philippines—The Charter change (Cha-cha) express train was derailed on Friday after running head-on against the most broadly based civil society mass protest in Makati City since the declaration of a national emergency by President Macapagal-Arroyo in 2006.

The 10,000 crowd that packed the intersection of Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas did not come up to the mammoth scale of the people power demonstrations at Edsa that deposed President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and President Joseph Estrada in 2001.

But the explosion of rage against Cha-cha expressed in the Makati multisectoral rally was sufficiently powerful to force the Arroyo administration to abandon the constitutional revision drive.

The rally was spearheaded by a coalition of forces associated with the Roman Catholic Church, which also provided the mass backbone of the two people power movements.

House Majority Leader Arthur Defensor declared on Saturday that the House of Representatives had abandoned its plan to unilaterally convene a constituent assembly (Con-ass) to consider amendments to the 1987 Constitution without the participation of the Senate.

—

Strongest message yet

The Senate resolution was initiated by Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who said it sent “the strongest message yet that the Senate stands united against the allies of the president in the Lower House to subvert the Constitution for dubious ends,” i.e., extend the term of the President beyond 2010.

—

Sign of intense outrage

—

Despite their perceptions dismissing the rally turnout as not as threatening as the mass protests during Edsa I and II, there were ample signs on the ground that the level of outrage against constitutional change has escalated and the groups now coalesced in the protest movement have increased.

They now embrace not only the Church-associated groups, but also leftist organizations, the major religious organizations, El Shaddai charismatic movement, big business leaders, leaders of opposition parties, senators aspiring for the presidency—all of whom joined the rally. These were the main components of Edsa I and II.

Church outrage

The Catholic hierarchy has been so outraged by the stepped-up drive by the administration to revise the Constitution to open the way for the extension of the President’s hold on power beyond 2010.

The opinion surveys show widespread revulsion at the thought of an extended Arroyo presidency.

Even the moderate archbishop of Manila, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, raised his voice in protest. “Let’s stop all this foolishness,” he said on the eve of the rally, voicing the sentiments of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines condemning the Con-ass congressional fast-track.

At no time since 2004 have public opinion surveys shown a decisive shift toward opposition to Cha-cha. A recent Social Weather Stations survey shows that 64 percent of voters rejected Cha-cha at this time.

While the numbers at the rally were not of the scale that would intimidate the administration from pushing its constitutional revision project, there are warnings that the demonstrations represent the head winds of a storm that is ready to break out if the forces behind Cha-cha ignore them.

Defensor may be listening to these warnings when he announced the abandonment of the overdrive for Con-ass without Senate participation.

Senate institutional opposition to Con-ass is the less important reason for the abandonment.

More important is the fury of an outraged public opinion building up behind the growing momentum of protests against Cha-cha being used as a weapon to smuggle Ms Arroyo into an extended term without electoral mandate.

read in full here: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20081215-178020/Con-ass-bid-in-House-derailed

cha-cha and arroyo : increasing and deepening rejectors and non-preferers of Brand Cha-cha and Brand Arroyo

in marketing terms, what happened in yesterday’s rally against the cha-cha and as it turned out against president arroyo is called enhancing the negatives or widening and deepening the objections and rejectors. that is a sure sign of unhealthiness for  Brand Cha-cha and Brand Arroyo. 

going-in,   Brand Arroyo has had a lot of brand negatives. it’s U&A&I ratings through the numerous national surveys (Pulse Asia and SWS) have shown Brand Arroyo suffers from a dismal brand failure where it has consistently gotten very high and worsening rejections and non-preference. yesterday’s rally simply confirms that and in many ways deepens it.

Brand Cha-cha is in a similar bind. cha-cha has been attempted before. many times over. and like before, it has always been rejected by the consumers (the people). the nth mutation of cha-cha has not changed consumer preference on it. they continue to reject it.

yesterday was a good showing. getting such a high number for a first attempt after a long time shows the intensity of the negative sentiments. not many rallies have been held recently and a showing like that speaks very well of the strong sentiments of consumers (the people).

 but what most analysts say that is much more telling is the fact that the rally yesterday attracted a whole spectrum of society – from right to left wing, from the clergy and nuns to the activists, to civil society and the unconcerned. in other words, in marketing terms what would have been an across the board rejection.

if this was brand, it would be panic time. first things first – remove or stop doing the negatives and start putting in the positives. do a brand relaunch. unfortunately, we don’t see that coming anytime in the near future.

makes you wonder, are they asking fora showdown?

——

  http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20081213-177739/Rage-vs-Arroyo-Charter-change

 

 

 

Rage vs Arroyo, Charter change

Makati protest draws 7,000 from left to right

By Allison Lopez, Gil C. Cabacungan Jr., Norman Bordadora, Marlon Ramos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:20:00 12/13/2008

 MANILA, Philippines—They came to express their rage. They described the object of their rage the worst Philippine president since World War II and, shouting expletives, urged the people to thwart her alleged intention to be President for life.

“P___ ina! (SOB) … Patayin ang Gloria-forever Cha-cha na ito! (Let us kill this Gloria-forever Charter change!)” opposition Sen. Mar Roxas, normally known for keeping his decorum, screamed at a rally in Makati Friday held to denounce moves by Malacañang allies to revise the Constitution through a Constituent Assembly (Con-ass).

Some protesters wore shirts printed with the words “Evil” and “lucky bitch.” One banner said in Filipino: “Con-ass is for ass-holes.”

Evangelist Brother Eddie Villanueva declared that righteous people would rise and “oppose the act of the devil.”

To twist Constitution

“Gloria wants to twist the Constitution so she could stay in power,” Roxas told the crowd. He also denounced the various political scandals that had rocked the Arroyo administration, including the P728-million fertilizer scam and the confiscation of P6.9 million in undeclared cash from a Philippine delegation visiting Russia.

Later, Roxas apologized to those who were present, especially to the nuns, saying in Filipino that he had to say what he said “because I don’t want this day to pass without GMA knowing what we feel.”

Other rally leaders also cursed, insulted and mocked Ms Arroyo in songs and speeches.

A folk singing duo led by Danny Fabella drew cheers with their song “Baliktad na Talaga ang Mundo.’’ The crowd heartily cheered the lines “Sa Pilipinas ang talo, nagiging Pangulo (In the Philippines, the loser became President).’’

Despite gloomy skies, crowds estimated by media people at about 7,000 to 8,000 gathered at the intersection of Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas and lambasted Con-ass, a mode of changing the Charter which would allow congressmen loyal to Ms Arroyo to introduce amendments even without the consent of the recalcitrant Senate.

The protesters represented all colors of the political spectrum—from members of the largely conservative Roman Catholic Church and big business to leftist militants.

 

 

 

groups unite to kick arroyo’s con-ass

groups from all persuations seem to have come together to one point – kick arroyo’s con-ass.

yesterday, the senate, an astounding 23 of them voted against arroyo’s con-ass. today, a rally will be held in makati to protest the con-ass.

the rally today is significant as this is catholic church based. the catholic church is one of the forces that has borught down marcos and estrada through people power and edsa dos.

cardinal rosales, the archbishop of manila, the country’s top prelate has broken his silence and has come out to go against arroyo’s con-ass. unlike cardinal sin, rosales’ predecessor, cardinal rosales has elected to be low key. he even gave a directive to the priests not to get involved in politics. but that has changed now.

rosales has strongly spoken against arroyo’s con-ass. his words, yesterday:

“Let’s stop all this foolishness,” Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales said in a statement released by his office Thursday, voicing the sentiments of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on moves in the House to convene a constituent assembly (Con-ass).

that wasn’t the first time rosales has spoken against arroyo’s con-ass and those will not be the last. rosales will most probably be in the rally today and he will speak his words again. his and other groups words will be heard in protest against arroyo’s con-ass.