Drilon slams DILG’s Cha-Cha signature drive amid pandemic: 'Wala nang makain at trabaho, isusubo natin itong Cha-cha?'

Sen. Franklin Drilon | Photo from CNN Ph

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon claps back at the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Sunday for pursuing the Charter change (Cha Cha) amid the pandemic.

Drilon called it “a total waste of time and resources” and “height of insensitivity” despite the spread of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country.

“Habang ang mga Pilipino ay wala ng makain at nawalan ng trabaho, isusubo natin itong Cha-cha?” Drilon said

“Hindi ko po maintindihan kung paanong ang usapin saCha-cha ay makakatulong sa ating ekonomiya at makakapagbigay ng trabaho sa ating mga kababayan.” he added

In an article by the Inquirer, it said that DILG has been pushing for Cha-cha. It reportedly directed its regional offices and supporters to continue gathering up to 2 million signatures over the next two months to back amendments to the Constitution.

Drilon added that going for Cha-cha will only create a distraction and unnecessary noise, saying the government should instead work on addressing the widening budget deficit, inflation, unemployment, and rising poverty.

“The Congress and the executive branch should work together to pursue legislation that will help revive the economy and restore the jobs temporarily and permanently lost due to the pandemic. That should be the focus, not Cha-cha,” he added.

“Our resources are depleting and the President said so. We have a long battle ahead with regard to dealing with this pandemic. All agencies should exercise prudence and wise judgment in the use of public funds, most especially in this most trying time in our history as a nation,” the opposition senator also said

In a separate statement, senator Kiko Pangilinan also expressed the same concern, that Cha-cha, should be the country’s least priority.

“The current effort is out of touch with current realities and is an insult to millions of our citizens who have lost their jobs, who are experiencing unprecedented hunger and who continue to be threatened by the spread of this incurable disease,” he said.

“Instead of using govt (government) money and personnel on collecting millions of signatures, the DILG should instead focus on mass testing and contact-tracing millions of our citizens both of which up until now remains to be undertaken in full two months after the law granting Malacañang special powers to use billions of pesos to address the pandemic was passed,” he added.