Domogan favors ConCon
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BAGUIO CITY — To dispel the widespread suspicion that Charter change is being pushed to extend the stay in office of incumbent public officials, Baguio’s representative to Congress, Mauricio Domogan, expressed his preference for the holding of a consitutional convention to work on the proposed Constitutional amendments, where delegates to the said convention would be elected simultaneous with the presidential elections in 2010.
Whether this is now the prevailing sentiment of the dominant Lakas-Kampi coaliton in Congress or not, was unclear in the public forum held last February 15, Saturday, at the Mission Center of the Anglican Church here in Baguio City.
It will be recalled that Speaker Prospero Nograles, has been repeatedly threatened with an ouster move from his colleagues because of his less than enthusiastic effort to push Charter changes before the 2010 elections.
Congressman Domogan, in the same forum, reiterated his position on the proposed Baguio Charter amendments, which to him would consolidate all relevant laws pertinent to the governance of the city, and would hopefully settle many of the festering land issues bothering city residents.
The proposed reproductive health bill proved to be one of the more contentious topic during the forum with participants identified with the more conservative sectors of society, expressing fears that the bill once signed into law would facilitate legalized abortion in the country.
Domogan allayed their fears by explaining that the bill itself recognizes that abortion would remain illegal and thus would not be countenanced by the proposed reproductive health bill.
As the sole resource person in the forum, Domogan asked the audience to support the on-going efforts to establish the Cordillera Autonomous Region as provided for the Constitution. He expressed the fear of some autonomy advocates that if not establish soon, regional autonomy might not take off and even the present administrative region would be broken up and end up as mere parts of Regions I and II as in the previous arrangement before the administrative region was established.
The forum’s organizers, the Baguio-Benguet Ecumencial Group and the Baguio Multisectoral Group, informed the audience that they would be holding similar activities in the future on a regular basis. # Manny Loste
