The Council of State is composed of the President, Vice President, the Cabinet, Senate President, Senate Minority Leader, Speaker of the House, the House Minority Leader, and all the Former Presidents of the Republic.

The President may invite additional leaders both from the government and the private sector to the Council of State as she may deem fit.

In other words, the Council of State is supposed to be a body composed of the most influential leaders of the land.

A Council of State is convened at times of great national crises when there is a need for everyone that matters in the country to help for the common good.

It has its roots in the history of ancient democracies where rivalries were set aside either in defense of the state or for the promotion of the common welfare.

It has not been convened in the Philippines for a long time now because previous rulers did not have the statesmanship to call on their political rivals for help.

Either that, or because previous Philippine incumbents did not want to risk being snubbed by leaders coming from a different stripe.

President Arroyo has risen above both petty political considerations. She wants to reach out to everyone, regardless of who they are, for the sake of the nation.

It is from this perspective, therefore, that the statesmanship of all Philippine leaders to participate in the scheduled meeting of the Council of State also partakes of being a patriotic duty for all concerned.

Those who will snub the meeting of the Council of State will be doing a very great disservice to our country and people.

Snubbing the Council of State will expose those concerned to charges of selfishness in both motives and political agenda.

It is the perfect time to convene the Council of State. The future of our country and people are at stake.

The opposition has no valid reason to boycott this. If the opposition is sincere about fiscalizing this government, the convening of the Council of State is the perfect venue for such discussion.

Trash that argument that questions the legitimacy of this administration. No matter what has been said and done, the facts remain the same that President won fair and square in the last elections.

She has a mandate to run this country until 2010. The infamy of the Garci tapes and other vicious innuendos cannot change that fact.

I have said it here before, I will say it again. Our politicians must rise above their own vested interests for the common good.