Groups slam House obstinate bid to change Charter thru Con-ass

By Gerry Baldo

12/03/2008

The House of Representatives is going to push through with Charter change through the Constituent Assembly (Con-ass) move even without the Senate’s concurrence, according to Rep. Teddy Casiño of the militant party list group Bayan Muna.

Casiño made this observation observation following a hearing by the House committee on constitutional amendments on a resolution filed by House Speaker Prospero Nograles seeking to relax the constitutional prohibition on total foreign ownership of land.

Casiño noted the resolution that was being deliberated by the committee was not even a joint resolution or a concurrent resolution which would need the concurrence of the Senate before its approval. “This is not a joint or a concurrent resolution that would need the concurrence of the Senate,” Casiño said.

“Obviously the intent of the resolution is not to be passed to the Senate,” Casiño said during the hearing even as he asked the members of the committee headed by La Union Rep. Victor Ortega on whether a three-fourths vote by the House would automatically convene the House into a Constituent Assembly to discuss House Resolution 37, which Nograles filed.

“That would be very possible Mr. Casino,” Ortega replied in answer to Casino’s query.

This developed as a broad coalition of various groups opposed to Charter Change and against President Arroyo’s continued stay in Malacañang unveiled a plan to hold a mass rally on December 12 in Ayala commercial district in Makati City in protest against the bid of President Arroyo’s allies to tinker with the Constitution..

The groups include the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines, Youth Act Now!, Promotion of Church People’s Response, the United Opposition, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Bangon Pilipinas, Concerned Citizens Movement, Edsa 3 Coalition, Sanlakas and the Coalition for National Transformation. The spearheads of these groups now call themselves the “No to Gloria’s Cha-cha Committee”.

The theme of the scheduled rally is “Labanan ang Charter Change ni Gloria!”

Also yesterday, former President Fidel Ramos held a press conference in his office in Makati to declare his opposition to any move to amend the Constitution.

“It’s rather late to be pursuing moves to amend the 1987 Constitution and that while the Lower House has the numbers to pass the resolution seeking to convene Congress into a Con-Ass (Constituent Assembly), the move may be stalled at the Senate which has taken the position that both houses of Congress must vote separately as specified in the present Charter Change,” he said.

Ramos said that while the Supreme Court could resolve the issue on Constituent Assembly, “the impasse that will result will be disastrous for the Philippines and the economy.”

Ramos added that instead of tinkering with the Charter Change, the Government should prioritize and address the economic problems created by the global financial meltdown.

“The government must institute measures to improve the image of the country with the international community since economic development is tied to how the community of nations perceive our country and government as he stressed that being ranked as a corrupt country is certainly something that Filipinos can’t be proud of,” said Ramos.

Meantime, Batangas Rep. Hermilando Mandanas affirmed that he had indeed withdrawn his proposed measure which sought to move the elections from 2010 to 2011, after realizing that it was “untimely and controversial.”

He also clarified that his resolution, HR No. 550, was only intended to extend the term of local officials except for barangay officials and congressmen.

“From the very beginning, I’d like to categorically state, I am against the extension of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo later than June 2010. Second, I am really against Constituent assembly (Con-ass). I think Constituent assembly, and Con-con (Constitutional Convention) before 2010 would be problematic because these are ways wherein we would open up the revision of the other provisions of the Constitution,” said Mandanas.

On the issue on Constituent Assembly, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga noted the silence of the 1987 Constitution ion whether the House of Representatives and the Senate could vote separately.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez insisted however that the provisions of the Constitution should be interpreted on the basis of the principle of bicameralism. “We should understand the Constitution on the basis of the underlying principles that there are two co-equal bodies... it should always be considered that we are under a bicameral legislature,” Rodriguez told the members of the panel. “We cannot override the Senate,” he added.

Rodriguez at the same time had moved to abolish the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments on the ground that it had already done its job. Rodriguez said that the proximity of the 2010 elections made the panel functus officio.

On this note, Barzaga said the House might as well bring the issue before the Supreme Court for it to rule on the voting to amend the Constitution.

Meanwhile, a neophyte administration congressman insisted there was no need to elect delegates to a Constitutional Convention just to change to Constitution “as the present Congress is capable of changing the 1987 Constitution via Constituent Assembly.”

Lakas Rep. Yevgeny Vicente Emano of Misamis Oriental said members of the 14th Congress is capable revising the Constitution vis-avis the elections of delegates of a Constitutional Convention simultaneous with the 2010 elections.

“Why elect a body of unknowns when the present Congress is peopled with legal luminaries whose knowledge of the law and love for the country are beyond doubt, traits which make them the best men for the job of modernizing the Constitution?” Emano said.

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