Deputy Presidential Spokesperson for Luzon, Ma. Lorelei Fajardo, who was guest speaker during the Independence Day rites in Bacolod City, said the President will not run for election in 2010 but will step down next year.

It is really unfortunate that Charter Change is always connected to the term extension of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, she said.

Fajardo also said that there will be no term extension for the President.

“Let us leave Cha-Cha to Congress since it is within their jurisdiction and not with Malacañang, and Congress is an independent institution, a co-equal body of the executive,” she said.

Fajardo said reports that the President will run in her district and return to power as prime minister are all speculation. Arroyo will be President until June 20, 2010, and elections will be on May 11, she said.

“We are preparing to make the election automated because we want to ensure that elections will be held in 2010, since this will become the legacy of the President,” Fajardo said. Also, Lakas and Kampi had a merger, she said.

They also update the status of all the priority projects of the President especially in construction to ensure that she has fulfilled her commitment before she steps down in 2010, she added.

Fajardo said that before one can even run in an election, he or she has to resign from his or her present position before filing for candidacy by November 30, 2009.

She appealed to Bacoleños to look at the real issue, why there is a need for Charter Change and to find out if this will benefit many.

The public has to be informed what Cha-Cha is really about, Fajardo said. At the end of the day it is the public that will decide since there will be a plebiscite, she added.

Fajardo also said the national government decided to forego the usual parade and held a 3-day jobs fair since the country is facing a global financial crisis.

She said that while 80 percent of the countries in the entire world are suffering a negative economic growth, the Philippines is among the 20 percent which has continuous growth.

“Although our growth during the first quarter was only .4 percent, we were able to generate more than 5,000 jobs, both local and international,” she added.

Fajardo also said, “The celebration of Independence Day hopes to make heroes out of each and everyone by asking us to never forget to stand firmly on what we believe in.”

Meanwhile, Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said he preferred to translate the theme of the Independence Day celebration to “Courage, skill and industry as pathways to real freedom.”

He said “Our forebears’ courage to break the yoke of tyranny is the kind of courage that we need today and the kind of courage that we also want from our leaders – to go beyond the present to realize the future, no matter what the odds and obstacles are.”

Leonardia said it was plain courage to do what was good for the city and for the Bacoleños, that his administration saw the need of the people to have a concrete symbol of their government at par with, and worth their dignity in this present time of global upheaval and progress.

“Had we not the will and courage to go on, and had we been intimidated by political enemies and critics, your new government center would not be where it is now,” he said.

Leonardia said the new government center has become the most important concrete symbol of Bacolod.

It has spurred business activities in the area, and has contributed already to the ever present demand for more jobs and, in a way, has contributed to the economy of the city, he said. It has even become a major tourist attraction, he added.

Leonardia said “If we have our heroes who gave us our independence today, we also have our heroes who are slowly but surely working their way towards our economic independence.”

They are President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the Filipino Overseas Workers who have substantially and consistently propped up our economy through their dollar remittances, he said.

The three-hour civic-military parade to the new government center, which featured a “human flag,” was witnessed by Fajardo and Deputy Presidential spokesman Anthony Golez, and also Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, Councilors Greg Gasataya, Homer Bais, Wilson Gamboa Jr., Celia Flor, Catalino Alisbo, Roberto Rojas, Alex Paglumotan and Reynold Iledan, who also attended the Independence Day program at the Bays Center in the morning.

BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO VisayanDailyStar