Reps. Eduardo Nonato Joson and Rodolfo Antonino of the first and second districts, respectively, said the Arroyo administration is stable amid some street protests from the political opposition.
Joson who heads the local political party Bagong Lakas ng Nueva Ecija (Balane) and is reportedly eyeing a Senate seat has been hurling tirades on the Arroyo government. He even proposes a mid-term referendum to determine the mandate of Arroyo in running the republic.
“Tingin ko, okay naman,” Joson said. He was quick to add, however, that the case would be different if she holds on to Malacanang beyond 2010. “Pag siya (Arroyo) lumampas ng 2010, magigiba ang gobyerno,” Joson stressed.
Antonino, regional chair of the administration party Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi), belittled the street protests saying the number of protesters was so small considering the size of the Filipino population. Placing the number of the recent Makati protest at 7,000, Antonino noted the Filipinos now number about 80 million.
There is really no instability, he said, He admitted though that protests by critical sectors against the Arroyo administration create a bad impression of the country in the global community.
Coming from different poles, the two were also one in saying the resolution earlier passed by the Philippine Senate that declared the House of Representatives’ moves for Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) was unconstitutional.
This despite Joson’s own stand in favor of Constitutional Convention (Concon).
