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ADMINISTRATION and opposition senators are prepared to convene a group behind closed doors to confirm a decision on a pending proposal to amend the 1987 Constitution, which is seen as lifting existing term limits, among others.
In a statement, Senator Francis Pangilinan, chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Review of Codes and Laws, confirmed that the next assembly is being convened to “consolidate a consensus on how to move forward” on a Senate resolution to amend the law of 1987 Constitution.
“As was our focus in the previous Congress, it would be best if the issue was first addressed and debated in a Senate Caucus where consensus can be reached on how to move forward,” he said.
Palace without hands
Malacañang distanced himself Thursday from renewed efforts in Congress to initiate a charter change, saying President Duterte is focused on addressing the Covid-19 pandemic.
In an online press conference, presidential spokesman Harry Roque reiterated that lawmakers do not need the president’s permission to amend the Constitution.
“That is the only constitutional prerogative of Congress and we respect it,” said Roque.
He issued the statement amid allegations that the latest move by some members of the House of Representatives to reactivate the statute change as a means to extend Duterte’s term.
“There is no truth in that rumor. The president has made it clear that he does not intend to stay one minute beyond the end of his term on June 30, 2020, ”said Roque.
During the early years of his tenure, Duterte pushed for a charter change as a means of changing the country’s unitary form of government to federal.
Roque, however, said that the president is now concerned about the problems related to the pandemic, particularly in the preparation of the Covid-19 vaccination campaign planned by the government for the first half of the year.
“The president has no other top priority right now, except this pandemic,” Roque said.
Suspect sync
Senator Pangilinan, however, expressed concern over the timing of the House resolution, noting that “the entire government’s focus must be on disease control and management so that the country can recover.”
He added that among the topics likely to be addressed in the caucus would include “the timing of the amendments to the Charter considering that the country is facing the worst economic and health crisis in recent times.”
At the same time, Pangilinan expressed apprehensions about whether this is the right time to discuss plans to amend the Charter. “Is this the right time to talk about this? Furthermore, it is a matter of Congress voting jointly or separately when proposing amendments to the Charter. “
Pangilinan indicated that he would prefer to let the Senate leadership decide in a group behind closed doors how to proceed on the matter. “I let the Senate leadership decide on the matter for a group of senators,” he said.
At the same time, he indicated that the caucus will also secure a decision on holding public consultations similar to those held in the last Congress, but added that “it would depend on the discussions during the caucus. Let’s listen to the sentiments of our fellow senators. “
The opposition senator recalled that the results of a previous poll stated that a considerable majority of Filipinos are opposed to changing the 1987 Constitution, even when he noted that “before, several leaders of the House met and announced that the House is preparing to reactivate the deliberations on the change of the Charter and the hearing of the House could begin next week “.
Binay weighs
Meanwhile, former Vice President Jejomar C. Binay warned that “the motives for incumbent lawmakers to amend the Constitution a year before the scheduled elections will always be suspect.” What the country needs during this pandemic “is a coherent, supportive and competent government, not a change of letter. Any discussion about amending the Constitution, including the economic provisions, should be left to the next Congress, “Binay said in a statement.
“Historically, these efforts [to tinker with the Charter] they are vigorously carried out near the end of incumbents’ terms, raising suspicions that such amendments will benefit them, ”he added.
“Millions are out of work and hungry. The economy is falling. People need solutions from the government, not from Cha-Cha, ”Binay emphasized.
Akbayan’s party list chairwoman Loretta Rosales, for her part, also opposed measures to play with the Constitution.
“In the midst of our desperate struggle to access vaccines against a pandemic that has killed many Filipinos and left thousands more sick, the proposal to prioritize the convening of Congress as a Constituent Assembly to pave the way for the change of the Charter is downright murderous. Cha-Cha in the time of Covid-19 is a dance of death. It is a legislative virus that seeks to legitimize the extension of the self-government of this government beyond the constitutional limits on the health and life of the people. People need vaccines, not term extensions. “
