CITIZENS ACT NOW!

CITIZENS ACT NOW!
Stop the War, Stop Charter Change, Fight Martial Law and Term Extension!

WE, the Coalition for a Citizens’ Constitution(C4CC), a national coalition composed of at least 3,000 non-government and peoples organizations implementing programs for and working with the basic sectors all over the country;

DEEPLY CONCERNED about the escalation of violence and war between the government and MILF forces in Central Mindanao due to the collapse of the peace talks after the aborted signing of the Memorandum on Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) killing scores and pushing half a million innocent civilians into evacuation centers deprived of food and other basic services;

WORRIED that the current efforts in Congress to speedily convene itself into a Constituent Assembly to revise the 1987 Constitution even without the Senate’s concurrence would result to self-serving changes such as the consolidation of power of the President and existing government officials and the extension of their respective terms in office;

UNDERSTANDING that fears for a Martial Law declaration also to extend the term of Mrs. GMA may not be totally unfounded given the current strong influence of Mrs. GMA in Congress and the Supreme Court and the increasing number of possible justifications for such as the raging war in Mindanao and the potential economic recession and depression;

AWARE that these worsening political and economic crises besetting the country are happening amidst the lingering legitimacy issue and fight for political survival and relevance of Mrs. GMA;

JOINTLY AND STRONGLY CALL:

ON THE GOVERNMENT AND THE MILF FORCES
-to immediately stop the war and any act that would worsen the situation,
-go back to the negotiating table and;
-undertake broader stakeholders consultations on the content of the peace settlements to include the indigenous peoples, small farmers and fishers and the urban poor, among others;

ON BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS
-to stop all efforts to change the Constitution before the elections in 2010;

ON THE FILIPINO PEOPLE
-to remain vigilant, educate ourselves, organize, and mobilize in a massive active non-violent expression of people power to

STOP THE WAR IN MINDANAO!
STOP CHARTER CHANGE BEFORE 2010 ELECTIONS;
FIGHT MARTIAL LAW and TERM EXTENSION!

Coalition for a Citizens’ Constitution