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GMA allies oppose emergency powers for P-Noy

March 4, 2011

MANILA, Philippines – Allies of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo opposed yesterday the proposed grant of emergency powers to President Aquino in case current problems in the Middle East cause a shortage of oil products here.
House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman said the President has enough powers to deal with an emergency situation brought about by protests in Libya and parts of the Middle East.
“Besides, under the Constitution, Congress could grant emergency powers to the President only in times of war or national emergency, and neither exists,” he said.
Another minority member, Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay, said the President does not need extra powers.
“What he needs to do is to exercise his authority and prerogatives as chief executive effectively,” she said.
Lagman’s 30-member minority bloc is composed mostly of remnants of Lakas, the ruling party during the Arroyo administration. They include the former president herself, now a congresswoman representing Pampanga’s second district.
There have been proposals in the House of Representatives to empower Aquino with extra authority to deal with an oil crisis. One such proposal is contained in Resolution 1027, introduced by Rep. Teodorico Haresco of the party-list group Ang Kasangga.
In his resolution, Haresco cited a Department of Energy (DOE) report that oil prices have been rising due to the turmoil in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Oman, and other parts of the Middle East, and China’s decision to raise interest rates and its near-record imports of crude oil.
The DOE noted that the 81 percent of the Philippines’ crude imports come from the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Iran), 12 percent from its Asian neighbors and the remaining seven percent from Russia, all of which are not conflict-ridden states, he said.
He said the country, as a net oil importer, would surely be affected by geopolitical tensions in oil-producing states in the Middle East and North Africa.
“If the situation in the Middle East and North Africa worsens, it could lead not only to a global oil crisis but also the displacement of millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) worldwide, a million presently deployed in the Middle East and Africa,” he added.
Haresco proposed that “in response to the possibility of an economic crisis, a 90-day temporary emergency power may be granted to the President to realign some budget items to store some oil inventories.”

Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=662848&publicationSubCategoryId=63

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