Mayor Lim and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz led crowd of 3,500 people during a march and prayer rally against hasty charter change and constitutional assembly yesterday (Dec 15) held at the city plaza.

The participants were composed of students and members of various religious organizations, such as the United Methodist Church, the Philippine Independent Church and the Roman Catholic Church.

“I do not believe that the Filipino people are so close-minded that they are not open to change. I am sure that the people are willing to amend or even revise completely our constitution if this is done correctly, sincerely, honestly, and in such a way would benefit the Filipino people,” Lim declared.

Lim said that opposition to charter change has snowballed not only because of the questionable intentions behind it, but also because of the untrustworthy characters who are pushing for it.

He said that the Filipino people have witnessed how the government has abused its resources to perpetuate itself in power. “The last straw, and what the people of this great nation cannot take, is the thought of a few people in government twisting and manipulating a constitution for which the Filipino people shed their own tears and blood.”

The mayor noted the sacredness of the constitution. And as the fundamental law of the land, it cannot be used to lengthen one’s term of office or to postpone or cancel elections, or to protect oneself from being impeached in congress, and most definitely, it is not a means to make oneself a prime minister.

Lim issued a challenge to the government officials who are pushing for charter change: “Remove yourselves from power, then fight for charter change. That way the Filipino people can see the sincerity of your actions, and I will proudly stand beside you, and let us fight together for sincere and honest change.”

“What the proponents of charter change do not realize is that embodied in our constitution is the spirit of freedom and democracy, and that spirit can never be amended, revised, nor corrupted,” the mayor said even as he admitted that the constitution is not perfect and there are changes that can be made to make it a stronger law, but there lies the beauty of the constitution.

Archbishop Cruz, on the other hand, referred to the charter change movement as a way of snatching not only the rights and hopes of the people, but also the very lives of Filipinos.

He bared that some 700 people composed of clergymen, media practitioners, workers and farmers, have been killed because of their advocacies for the Filipino people and against the government.

The youth sector expressed its stand against chacha by performing an interpretative dance to the tune of “The Prayer.”

All participants sang together, “Ang Cha-Cha ay Sumabit,” composed by a Dagupeño. The song goes: “Ang Cha-Cha ay sumabit, dahil bayan ay nagalit, JDV namilipit, dahil gusto ay ipilit…Sa Kongreso ay naghugas kamay, dahil ang Con-Ass nila’y sumablay, sektor ng bayan, maging ang simbahan…sa laban nagtagumpay.”

Leaders from the various religious organizations also led a prayer for peace, justice and prosperity for the nation. (Sunshine D. Robles)