By LIEZLE BASA INIGO
PUBLIC reaction in Pangasinan to the current unrest in the nation’s capital appears mixed with a regional trial court judge, speaking as a citizen, observing that students are being used for political purposes by some opposition sectors .

Regional Trial Court Judge Ulysses Butuyan of Branch 51 in Tayug expressed his belief that the students may now be unwitting pawns to some interests and their wide-eyed innocence being harnessed for purposes they have little knowledge of.

Butuyan’s statement came after he said he saw the students joining the Church-backed anti-administration rally held at the Dagupan City Plaza simultaneous with the Makati Inter-faith rally last February 29.

Meanwhile, Urdaneta City Mayor Amadeo R. Perez, Jr. said he favors the request of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for the scrapping of President Arroyo’s controversial Executive Order 464.

EO 464 was issued by the President on September 26, 2005 effectively preventing the appearance of member s of her Cabinet, police and military officers, senior national security officers and the like in congressional hearings unless they first secure her permission.

President Arroyo last week has revoked the EO and its attendant memorandum circular after a meeting with some bishops that was meant to be confidential but leaked to the media anyway.

Perez however clarified his view on EO 464 does not mean he is not supporting the President. He stressed that his support to the Chief Executive is constant and full along with his fellow officers and members of the League of Cities and the League of Municipalities.

Perez, a former congressman of the fifth district of Pangasinan and before that, a multi-term mayor of Urdaneta, said dynamic changes in the nation require dynamic adjustments and solutions among those who lead the nation and the local governments.