SENATE Minority Leader Ralph Recto withdrew his resolution Wednesday proposing amendments to the 1987 Constitution, saying he does not want to be a part of doing it for political reasons like federalism which he believes would do more harm than good.
“I know the purpose today is more political. So I don’t want to be a part of that, that’s why I withdrew my resolution,” said Recto as he withdrew Joint Resolution No. 2 which sought amendments to economic and certain social provisions in the Constitution.
Recto said “we know that the position of the President’s party is to amend it [Constitution] for political purposes, particularly Federalism.”
“And I think that will do more harm than good. It would be additional bureaucracy, taxes and red tape, and if we’re growing by 7-10 percent today, 7 percent real growth, 10 percent nominally, by doing that, we might destroy the economy,” Recto added.
He warned that turning the Philippines into a federal republic would be destructive to the existing state of affairs.
In the hearing of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes chaired by Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon, Recto made a manifestation withdrawing his resolution.
“I withdraw the resolution that I filed,” said the Senate minority leader who insisted he was only after economic changes, if at all.
But since that is not the plan of President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies, Recto said he withdrew his proposal.
Duterte and his allies, including including Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, have been pushing towards shifting the system of government to federalism that would separate the country’s regions into separate states.
Asked if he totally objected to the adoption of federalism, a legislative priority of the President, Recto gave an affirmative response. He believes this can be done better by just amending the Local Government Code.
Pressed further on the economic provisions he wants amended, Recto said at this point, he is not proposing any amendments to the Constitution.
While authoritarian tendencies of the President like calling for Martial Law is a possibility in charter change, Recto said he had not heard this from the President.
“So it has nothing to do with that—so far. What I’m hearing is that they are really pushing for Federalism and I think that will be very harmful to the country,” he said.
Drilon said Recto’s withdrawal was a vote against the adoption of the resolution calling either for a constitutional convention or constitutional assembly.
But he does not know if it would be a decisive vote.
“You know by his withdrawal of the resolution, it only means that he is not in favor of amending the Constitution. So any resolution that will propose for the call of a con-con or con-ass, he will cast a negative vote. Whether or not that negative vote will affect the vote is something that is speculative at this point,” said Drilon.
Despite Recto’s move, Drilon said it would not affect the Senate hearing on revising the Constitution.
“It will not affect the hearing. Not at all. We would know the effect once we put it to a vote,” he said.
The Senate leader also said they were reviewing the necessity of conducting out-of-town hearings.
“But we have not decided on that.”