24, 2008 4:46 pm by pna By Cielito M. Reganit
MANILA, Oct. 24, 2008
Local executives from the League of Provinces, Cities and Vice Governors of the Philippines (LPP, LCP and VGLP) on Friday urged the country’s bickering politicians to get their acts together especially at this very critical juncture when the economy is being threatened by the global financial meltdown.
They condemned the impeachment complaint filed against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, branding it as untimely, divisive, destructive and against national interest.
The current situation demands unity and full cooperation among the Filipino people in order for the country to weather the ongoing economic crisis that is engulfing the whole world, the local executives added.
Appearing before media at the weekly “Friday Balitaan” forum in Quezon City, Marinduque Governor Jose Antonio Carrion, LPP public information officer, Calbayog City Mayor Senen Mel Sarmiento, LCP secretary-general, and Surigao del Sur Vice Governor Librado Navarro, VLGP vice president for Mindanao, were one in saying statesmanship dictates that national leaders cast aside their political differences and unite for the sake of the country in these very critical times.
In throwing their full support behind President Arroyo, the officials cited the huge countryside developments under her administration and said that her strong leadership and economic policies had cushioned the effects of the “economic tsunami” that had hit even highly industrialized economies across the world.
They warned that political squabbling is scaring foreign investors because of speculations on the country’s political stability.
Carrion, a former member of the opposition, scored the handful of opposition figures who are trying to oust President Arroyo for sowing disunity among the people and said that they “do not see the developments in the countryside under her administration.”
He said that his province, where the poverty incidence was once pegged at 71 percent for lack of national support, had made large and steady gains under President Arroyo’s watch.
“It is only during President Arroyo’s term that the local government units (LGUs) got full support from the national government,” Carrion said.
Sarmiento, who also chairs the Regional Development Council of Eastern Samar, and Navarro shared the same sentiment.
Sarmiento said the decades-old neglect of the Samar region ended when President Arroyo took over the reins of the government.
He said that infrastructure and energy projects in Samar are going at full speed and the region is now well on its way to becoming an eco-tourism site.
“By 2010, the Samar region would be producing surplus rice for the country’s food security program. This is made possible thanks to the major irrigation project now ongoing in the region,” Sarmiento said.
The Samar mayor also cited the President’s penchant for sitting down with local officials to talk about development and lashed out at “national politicians, particularly senators, who visit the countryside only during election time.”
“Let us talk politics in October 2009. But for now, let us all unite and make use of the precious time for the sake and future of our country,” Sarmiento said. (PNA)
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