Thursday, February 26, 2009

Chiz: Stop Cha-Cha, Focus On Economics Stop Dancing, Start Working


Sen. Chiz Escudero calls on his colleagues in Congress to give up attempts to amend the Constitution and attend to the more pressing problems of the country, in the face of the current global economic crisis.

"We should focus on the economic problems of the country. More and more Filipinos are losing their jobs. There will be no food on the table if we don’t address this now," Escudero said.

"More than the self-serving movement to change the Constitution, the problems facing every Filipino today is job security. The government has warned of more mass layoffs in the future, once the effects of the crisis are magnified this year," Escudero said.

"I believe this is the pressing issue of the day and members of Congress should unite and coordinate efforts to meet this challenge head on," he added.

Due to the global economic crisis, a number of factories like Intel Philippines, have closed shop, resulting in loss of jobs for thousands of workers. The Department of Labor and Employment has projected more job losses this year.

"Creating more jobs in the country and securing existing ones should be our main focus right now. Congress should work on passing legislation that will address the economic crisis," Escudero said.

He said amendments to the Constitution could wait, as any move to push for such will only be met with skepticism that it will be used to extend the terms of incumbent elective officials, particularly President Arroyo.

"The country does not need that right now. While thousands of Filipinos lose their jobs, Congress does nothing but engage in pointless activities such as Charter change. We should address the economic problems if we are to call ourselves representatives of the people," Escudero said. /MP

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