The 101st RCM president/ Too early for Cha-cha

Months of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic has changed lives. It has affected many individuals, families, enterprises and organizations. Millions have lost their jobs, and while some places are starting to reopen, many people don’t have any work to go back to. The travel and tourism industry that is close to Robert “Bobby” Joseph’s heart, is among the worst hit sectors. The airline industry alone would take years to fully recover, according to Bobby.

Bobby, the 101st president of the Rotary Club of Manila for RY 2020-2021 says the pandemic does not stop the club’s continuing its relevant programs. “We will continue the feeding program for the poor and support the children who are battling cancer, the vulnerable street children, as well as the frontliners who are risking their lives to save others.”

Bobby, now 70, says he accepted the Rotary Club of Manila presidency despite his living with cancer since 2002. “I’m taking this challenge to make a difference with the help of my team and those who voted for me.”

He believes that a person should never stop learning. He attends online seminars to further improve his skills and leadership.

Bobby is a diplomat (Honorary Consul of the Republic of Latvia to the Philippines since 1994), a businessman, a wine connoisseur, an author, and much in-demand speaker.

He was appointed Commodore of the Manila Yacht Club in November 2018, during which time he strongly pursued his advocacy to save and restore Manila Bay’s lost glory. Together with Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu, he launched the Save Manila Bay project in January 2019 in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Manila when he was director at the time. Secretary Cimatu took up the challenge and led the cleanup of Manila Bay. As one can see, the bay has become clean and swimmable. But its thorough cleanup will take time.

To improve the country’s tourism landscape, Bobby, together with Gawad Kalinga founder Tony Meloto, is involved in a sustainable farm tourism program in San Jose, Batangas called Paraiso Village Social Tourism Farm. He also serves as vice-chairman of the International School of Sustainable Tourism (ISST) with former Tourism secretary Mina Gabor as president.

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Now is not the time to dance the Cha-cha. We should focus on measures to stop the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19.

That is the message of Vice President Leni Robredo and Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon.

In Helen Flores’ story in the Philippine STAR, Leni made the statement after the League of Municipalities expressed its support to the Duterte administration’s agenda to amend the 1987 Constitution.

“Our target should be how to stop the COVID-19 transmission, and Charter change is not a solution,” Leni said over radio station DzXL. “We (should) try to return to normal but as long as the numbers of (COVID-19) cases continue to rise we cannot do so.”

Leni, writes Helen, added that the Duterte administration is thinking of a lot of things which do not help in addressing COVID-19.

“If they want to talk about Charter change, they can do so, but not this time… In Charter change, we need a referendum. We should spend that money on testing kits, and in helping our hospitals instead.”

Leni also proposed the inclusion of representatives from the leagues of barangays, municipalities, cities and provinces in the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) for a more smooth coordination, particularly in handling locally stranded individuals (LSIs).

She made the suggestion after Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the mayors recognized the urgency of amending the Constitution because they recognize the greater need for regional development.

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My young colleague Paolo Romero wrote that Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said, “What our country urgently needs now is food, not dance. Joblessness is a huge problem, so Cha-cha must be placed on lockdown.”
 The senator vowed to strongly block the renewed Charter change attempts amid a pandemic that has infected over 67,000 Filipinos, and left at least five million out of work while crippling the economy, reported Paolo.

Drilon said attempts to scrap the 2022 elections and extend the term of sitting officials are behind the resurgence in the campaign to amend the Constitution, Drilon said.

Drilon said the claim of the League of Municipalities in the Philippines (LMP) that it is pressing for Charter change to increase their internal revenue allotment (IRA) and boost investments could be a “ruse” to push for the real agenda of extending the terms of sitting officials, either by scrapping the elections or lifting term limits.

“The intention (of Charter) change is for the 2022 elections not to happen or if it pushes through, removing the term limits. That’s wrong. We cannot move the elections in 2022 or remove term limits. For me, that’s the purpose,’’ Drilon said this over radio station dzBB.

In addition, Drilon said that the LMP’s claim that it wants Charter change to increase its members’ IRA is invalid as Congress cannot amend the interpretation of the Supreme Court of the Constitution on the issue.

Local government units should not be worried about their higher IRAs, as neither the executive nor Congress can set aside or revise the SC ruling on the Mandanas case in 2019, Drilon said.

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