A crowd of about 12,000 gathered at the Bacolod public plaza yesterday for a Church-led rally to call on Congress to stop Charter Change now and on President Gloria Arroyo to step down in 2010.

“People power is alive and kicking in Negros,” Rep. Teodoro Casiño (Bayan Muna partylist), one of the speakers at the rally, said.

“If this (the crowd at the Bacolod plaza) is an indication of the protests in other parts of the country, then I am confident that the people can defeat Charter change. This is the kind of protest that even the government cannot stop, and that had stopped Chacha in 1998 and 2006,” he said.

If Arroyo pushes Cha-cha for a shift to a parliamentary form of government so she can be prime minister, there will be even bigger and wider protests, he warned.

Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra said they will continue fighting against Cha-cha and will oppose any attempts by Arroyo to declare martial law.

Any change in the Constitution should be done through a Constitutional convention after 2010 without Arroyo, he said.

He said he hopes the massive crowd at yesterday’s rally would convince those pushing for Cha-cha of the groundswell of opposition against the move.

Fr. Aniceto Buenafe, director of the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Bacolod, placed the crowd composed of parishioners, students and members of militant groups at 12,000.

An open letter to House Speaker Prospero Nograles and all congressmen, especially those representing Negros Occidental,  from the Negrenses United  Against Constituent Assembly called on them   to renounce House Resolution 1109 that allows the convening of Congress into a Constituent Assembly to amend the Constitution.

Navarra said he is appealing to the sense of honor and Christian dignity of the congressmen to oppose Cha-cha now, and not to serve the clear vested interest of a few.

Bacolod Councilor Jocelle Batapa Sigue said as of yesterday afternoon they had gathered about 3,000 signatures to the open letter.

Casiño said he will help disseminate the letter in Congress as soon as sufficient signatures are gathered so the congressmen will be aware of the widespread opposition to ConAss.

The letter also calls on the congressmen to oppose any move to defer the May 10, 2010 elections and any move to establish military rule to prolong the stay of Arroyo in power beyond June 2010.

Ralph Sarmiento, University of St. La Salle Law Center executive director, who spoke at the rally said Constitutional amendments should be done by statesmen and not politicians, especially the present members of Congress.

Former Bacolod Councilor Lyndon Caña warned that there is a possibility that Arroyo could use emergency powers and declare martial law to continue to stay in power beyond 2010, if she cannot get the Constitution amended.*CPG

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