AN OPPOSITION lawmaker warned Sunday that the administration’s supermajority in the House and Senate would lead to wholesale amendments to the Constitution “simply because they have the numbers,” once Congress constitutes itself as a constituent assembly to amend the Charter.
At the same time, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman warned that choosing a constituent assembly as opposed to an elected constitutional convention as the mode of amendment would take longer, because he intended to bring the question of separate voting for the two chambers of Congress to the Supreme Court.
“The issue of separate voting will reach the Supreme Court,” Lagman said on radio dzBB. “I will bring it to the Supreme Court.”
Lagman warned that in a constituent assembly with a supermajority, amendments might be approved too quickly without adequate debate.
“The supermajorities in the House and Senate will fast-track the wholesale and volume amendment or revisions simply because they have the numbers,” Lagman said.
This was why allies of President Rodrigo Duterte have opted for a constituent assembly, even though Duterte had initially preferred a constitutional convention.
Lagman’s warning prompted House officials belonging to the supermajority coalition led by House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas to debunk suggestions that they would railroad the shift to a federal system of government to replace the current unitary, presidential system.
Lagman said that under the Constitution, Congress could amend the Charter upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members, not voting separately.
Once Congress is convened as a constituent assembly, Lagman said, all congressmen and senators are members of the assembly.
“There is no distinction between congressmen and senators in a constituent assembly, unlike in joint sessions or legislative assembly where they can vote separately,” Lagman said.
But the Senate, he said, would insist on voting separately and Congress has no choice but to allow the Supreme Court to rule on the contested issue.
Lagman said constituent assembly would work only if the revisions to be made were on a piece-meal basis.
“If the amendments are to be done on one or two provisions, a constituent assembly will work. Debates will not take long on that score. Not so many hours will be wasted. However, if the amendment is to overhaul [the Charter] or a wholesale revision, extensive deliberations must be done,” Lagman said.
Aside from a shift to a federal parliamentary form of government, Duterte wants some economic provisions revised and also wants to abolish the party-list system because it has been abused. All these changes, however, require an elected constitutional convention, Lagman said.
Lagman also dismissed assurances from House leaders that they could tinker with the Constitution and deliberate on the national budget at the same time.
“That is easier said than done,” he said.
But Fariñas dismissed fears that the constituent assembly was being chosen to railroad constitutional changes.
“It’s simply practical and plain common sense. A constituent assembly would spend no more than P2 billion, while a constitutional convention, from P6 billion to P7 billion, and that figure is only for the election of delegates,” Fariñas said.
To prevent an uncontrolled Charter change, Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. called for the drafting of a “nonpartisan Charter change study” to be done by experts appointed by President Duterte.
“You need this study group composed of eminent persons to prepare the road map. And what they will come up with will be the working paper for Charter change. You can’t throw all the work at politicians. There has to be a basis [for the proposed amendments],” Andaya said.
Andaya recalled the scheme of commissioning experts to do a study on possible revisions to the basic law was done by Presidents Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
“So there are precedents,” Andaya said.
Andaya said President Duterte can appoint a group of 10, maximum of 20 delegates from the academe, grassroots, business and judiciary and give them a 120-day deadline to submit their recommendations on what provisions of the Constitution should be improved or cured of their defects.
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said an elected convention would take longer to organize, but would cost less than P6 billion if elections were synchronized with the barangay elections.
“How many delegates will we elect? If it’s by district, then that’s going to be very expensive. You have to pay the salaries of the delegates and their staff, purchase vehicles. You need to organize a separate secretariat, rent office space, buy office supplies and equipment. And you cannot predict a definite timetable as to when it can complete its work,” Diokno said.
He said this would be a major overhaul of the Constitution after 30 years.
“My reading is that President Duterte wants Charter change done as soon as possible. He has even said that if Charter change is completed and federalism is already in place in three to four years, then he is willing to step down,” Diokno added.
Fariñas agreed with House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez that the savings from using a constituent assembly can also be channeled to President Duterte’s wish to immediately effect salary increases for policemen, the military and other law enforcers.
Andaya said whether it is done by an elected convention or by Congress, the job of amending the Constitution must be guided by “clear parameters so it will not end up as a free-for-all in which all parts of the Constitution are open to tinkering.”
“It doesn’t matter if the cat is black or white, for as long as it catches the mice. The question is, which mice?” Andaya said.
Andaya said the call to amend the Constitution does not come from federalism proponents alone.
“There’s a constituency lobbying for the lifting of economic restrictions. There are those who want to water down its progressive provisions like agrarian reform and the no foreign bases clause. There are also those who are quiet now, but they want term limits of elected officials removed,” Andaya said.
“All of them are waiting to jump into the ‘Cha-cha’ bandwagon. Some of them are readying their riders,” Andaya said.
Senator Richard J. Gordon said Malacañang’s decision to transform the legislative body into a constituent assembly is a welcome development.
“The people-elected senators and congressmen are possible amenders of the Constitution. It is more expedient,” he said.
Earlier this month, Gordon called for constituent assembly as a means to amend the Constitution.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, on the other hand, said a constituent assembly would distract lawmakers from their primary work and delay key legislation.
“The revision of the Constitution must be insulated from politics as much as possible,” said Gatchalian, who supports an elected convention.
The Palace on Sunday declined to get involved in the Charter change debate, saying Congress must settle the matter on its own. With Macon Ramos-Araneta, Sandy Araneta, and Rio N. Araja