THE die is cast.

Gov. Erico Aumentado has vowed to actively campaign against solons pushing for Charter Change through Constitutional Assembly but without the participation of the Senate. Speaking during his weekly program The Governor Reports aired live over Bohol 's two Tagbilaran City-based radio stations dyRD and dyTR and delayed broadcast over dyDL based in Carmen town, the governor made his stand. He said he favors Charter Change but clarified that only at the proper time – and will support such change if the proposed amendments will also pass through the Senate. “If ‘mere' road conversion bills need bicameral action, the more should moves that seek to change the basic and fundamental law of the land,” he stressed. He said he strongly supports the effort of Deputy Speaker Pablo Garcia of Cebu who wants to send the Con-Ass move post-haste to the Senate. Such move, he explained, should be properly made in order to avoid a Constitutional crisis waiting to happen should the Lower House insist on change through Con-Ass without the Senate. With the next elections just around the corner, he vowed to campaign against these Con-Ass promoters who, he said, are just brewing destabilization.

He said they criticize President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo no end despite the many positive things she has done for the country including her economic resiliency program that earned it upgraded ratings from Standard and Poor, as well as Moody's. They also predicted failure for her mission to the United States to meet President Barack Obama. Aumentado said he stands by the President. As a good soldier and party-man, he said he will desert her only for a compelling reason. After all, he explained, with President Arroyo at the helm, Bohol now has, among others, concrete roads, self-sufficiency in rice by as much as 113% making it an exporter instead of importer of the commodity, improved seaports connected to the Strong Republic Nautical Highway, tourists trooping to local destinations in droves, better Bohol Tourism Road Improvement Projects (B-Trip), as well as stable and reliable geothermal power supply from nearby Leyte province and locally generated hydroelectric and land-based power. If change must come, the governor said, let it be through the legal way – not by marching in the streets. And let change come at the proper time – not during these last days of her presidency as it will only distract her, he added.