House, Senate break Cha-cha deadlock
BY RALPH VILLANUEVA ON JANUARY 26, 2018
CONGRESSIONAL leaders finally broke a deadlock in discussions on Charter change, agreeing to first settle the structure of the government under a new constitution before deciding on the manner of voting on amendments, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said on Thursday.
Alvarez, speaking over radio station dzBB, said that he, House Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel 3rd and Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto 3rd reached an interim deal over a dinner Wednesday night.
“[We agreed that] we will talk about the details first; for example, the structure of the government until we complete the new Constitution. Afterwards, it will not make any difference anymore if we vote separately or jointly,” the House speaker said.
In a statement, Pimentel, president of the ruling PDP-Laban party, said: “We have decided to focus on the revisions that have to be made rather than how these changes will be effected.”
“But we need to determine first what exact amendments or revisions will benefit the people. After this we can tackle how we will go about enacting these amendments in a manner that maximizes citizen involvement and is consistent with the law,” he added.
The Senate and the House differ over how to vote on Charter amendments or revisions, as there is no clear provision for such in the 1987 Constitution.
The Senate wants the two chambers to vote separately as senators would be outnumbered in a joint session.
The House leadership believes it can convene itself as a Constituent Assembly and propose and approve changes to the Constitution even without the participation of senators, as long as the required two-thirds votes of all members of Congress is reached.
Consensus on federalism
Alvarez said there was a consensus on the shift to a federal system of government, a key campaign promise of President Rodrigo Duterte.
The speaker however admitted that discussions were still in the early stages and that more meetings and discussions between the congressional leaders would be held over the next few weeks.
“There are a lot of mistakes in the structure [of the current Constitution], that’s why changes should be done,” Alvarez said, adding that the new Constitution should be easy to understand by citizens.
Sen. Francis Escudero however said in a separate statement that pushing for a comprehensive study on the shift to federalism would be a better move than talking about whether the Senate and the House of Representatives should convene or not to change the Charter.
‘Do not monopolize discussions’
The opposition immediately slammed Alvarez, saying the speaker and the House supermajority should not monopolize decisions on Charter change.
“I hope the speaker will consider consulting the opposition in the House. Consensus-building is a very effective component in law [and should be done]instead of bullying House members,” Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice said in a message sent to reporters.
Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. said that while he was open to revising the Constitution, debate over amendments to the Charter would be an opportunity to defend the 1987 Constitution, which was crafted by a commission formed in 1986 by President Corazon Aquino following the ouster of the Marcos regime.
“Personally, I’m actually open [to debates on Charter change]. But with all the initial talk on Cha-cha focusing on removing term limits and term extension, I cannot help but feel [suspicious]that Cha-cha will do us any good,” he said.
Baguilat also claimed the “sinister” minds of the supermajority were ready with “contingency plans to try to railroad Charter change, whether unconstitutional or revolutionary.”
Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate said in a statement the proposals regarding Charter change should be discussed in the open, in full view and scrutiny of the Filipino people.
“If the ones who will discuss Cha-cha are just the House and Senate leaders, then many would view this as a suspect at the very least, even dangerous and at worst, and self-serving,” Zarate said.
“Any discussion affecting the lives of millions of Filipinos like Cha-cha should be very transparent and should not be left in the hands of a few,” Zarate added.
‘Resolve voting first’
For Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, the mode of voting on amendments should be resolved first.
“The details on the shift would have to wait after the prior question on the manner of constituting [a Constituent Assembly]and voting therein are definitively threshed out. It is the mode of effecting the shift which bedevils the Senate and House leaderships. Ultimately, the impasse would have to be resolved by the Supreme Court,” Lagman said.
This was echoed by Erice, who said that even if both chambers of Congress agreed on good proposals, it would be “an exercise in futility.”
“I do not think that senators will agree on joint voting no matter how good is the proposal. If they agree on joint voting, the Senate will be irrelevant. What if the House suddenly changes its mind on the agreed proposal and approves a different one? So no agreement on the mode of voting, no Cha-cha,” Erice said.
Akbayan Party-list Rep. Tom Villarin said a Constitutuent Assembly would not happen without the intervention of the Supreme Court.
“Any attempt to change the Constitution in whatever mode will have an arbiter and any taxpayer can raise that issue to the court. A supermajority in both legislative chambers cannot moot the Supreme Court on fundamental issues like charter change,” Villarin said.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan, the Liberal Party president, recalled that senators already made a common stand on the issue during a caucus earlier this month, and whatever agreement made during the meeting between the leaders of the two Houses should be relayed to all members.
“I am certain my fellow senators would like to be briefed first by the leadership as to what was discussed in the meeting before we can commit to anything in this regard,” he added.
Puno, 18 others named to consultative body to review Constitution
Also on Thursday, the Palace finally named 19 of the 25-member “consultative committee” that will review the 1987 Constitution.
Duterte signed on January 24 the appointment papers of the members of the body to be led by former chief justice Reynato Puno as chairman.
Former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and former Supreme Court justice Bienvenido Reyes are also part of the committee.
The other members are Victor de la Serna, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino, Virgilio Bautista, Rodolfo Robles, Antonio Eduardo Nachura, Julio Teehankee, Eddie Alih, Edmund Tayao, Ali Pangalian Balindong, Laurence Wacnang,
Roan Libarios, Reuben Canoy, Arthur Aguilar, Susan Ubalde-Ordinario, Antonio Arellano and Randolph Parcasio.
In December 2016, Duterte signed Executive Order 10 forming a consultative committee to review the 1987 Constitution.
Duterte cited the need to review the Constitution to ensure that it is “truly reflective of the needs, ideals, and aspirations of the Filipino people.”
Duterte’s 25-member committee will study, conduct consultations and review provisions of the 1987 Constitution, including those on the structure and powers of the government, local governance, and economic policies.
Federal Republic of the Philippines
Originally Posted by marius
the people would always say it's the Russians, the Chinese... the americans are the good guys..always
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