Senators warn House vs bypassing Senate on Cha-cha

Senators warn House vs bypassing Senate on Cha-cha

Senators yesterday warned their counterparts in the House of Representatives against bypassing the Senate on the Charter change (Cha-cha) issue after learning that congressmen’s efforts to introduce a resolution seeking to convene Congress into a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) has already gained the support of some 160 congressmen.

Sen. Richard Gordon cautioned the House of Representatives, saying it will certainly face the public’s indignation should it pursue its plan to convene itself into a Con-Ass and bypass the Senate in introducing amendments to the Constitution.

“I strongly warned House Speaker Prospero Nograles against his colleagues’ moves to bypass the Senate in their attempt to railroad Charter change. If they truly represent the people and feel their sentiments, they should not tinker with our Constitution at all,” Gordon said.

“Changing the Constitution at this time is not only divisive and ill-timed, but also incendiary when our people are hardpressed with the skyrocketing prices of commodities and the deleterious effects of the global financial crisis on them. We will not allow the Senate’s voice – and vote – on the matter of Charter Change to be diminished or laid aside.”

Gordon said the upper and lower Houses of Congress can legally and constitutionally vote separately on the issue of Charter change. Only in case of a declaration of martial law can the two Houses of Congress vote jointly. Otherwise, they vote separately in cases like the declaration of war, deliberation of foreign treaties, and most importantly, a proposal to alter the Constitution, he said.

The move to amend the Constitution should be free from public suspicion and any political vested interest of the President and other incumbent officials.

“Now it is not the time. We should instead focus our energies and attention on the problems confronting us, especially on the impact of the global financial crisis,” he said.

Sen. Pilar Juliana “Pia” Cayetano also said the timing chosen by proponents of Charter change could not be worse, as the global economy reels from an unprecedented financial crisis.

“Pursuing changes in the Constitution and the form of government couldn’t have come at a worse time. Malacañang and the House leadership are clearly out of sync with reality, hopelessly consumed with the obsession to extend their terms as the 2010 national and local election approaches,” Cayetano said.

Cayetano urged lawmakers who are advocating Charter change to abandon “this latest plot and instead focus on measures to alleviate poverty and extend support to economic sectors most vulnerable to the crisis, such as exports, business process outsourcing, and agriculture.”

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said that despite reports that more than 160 congressmen have already signed the resolution convening a Constituent Assembly where the Senate and House would vote jointly on Charter amendments, he is confident that President Arroyo’s stay in office will not be extended.

Pimentel said he is certain that the Supreme Court will be able to correctly resolve the issue on whether the Senate and House of Representatives should vote jointly or separately on amendments to the Constitution.

“The members of the Supreme Court know that the Constitution provides for two houses of Congress, not only one. I believe that they will resolve the issue on the basis of the interest of the nation and what is right… And what is right will prevail over any loyalty to the appointing power,” he said.

“The unilateral House move to amend the Constitution will be bloody, figuratively speaking. They will have to overcome two barriers: the Tirad Pass of the Constitution; and the Thermophylae defense line of the Opposition,” Sen. Francis Pangilinan said.

“With Malacañang sounding off its desire for Charter change anew, we must all be very vigilant. The seven incoming justices will radically change the composition of the SC, and we are not just talking of a change in the judiciary, but also a potential change in the direction of the nation should the Constituent Assembly debate be raised to that level,” Pangilinan said.

Keep an open mind & maintain civility, Nograles asks oppositors

The debate on proposals to amend the 1987 Constitution has been tainted with mudslinging, name-calling, and grandstanding, thus making if even more difficult for Filipinos to fully comprehend the issues, Speaker Prospero C. Nograles said yesterday as he called on the oppositors to raise the level of discussion on the issue.

In a press statement, Nograles said that it is the constitutional duty of Congress to tackle proposals to amend the Constitution. He urged those who are for and those who are against Charter change to keep an open mind and maintain civility in exchanging views on this particular issue.

Nograles said that the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments chaired by La Union Rep. Victor Ortega is mandated by the Constitution to tackle proposals pending in the panel and make its recommendation to the plenary.

“I don’t see any reason why we should stop discussions on Charter change now or in the future. Vic Ortega’s committee, just like any other committee in the House, has to work and carry out the mandate of the committee,” Nograles said.

Nograles reiterated that there is no proposal in the House that seeks to extend the term of any incumbent official, including the President.

Even if the House decides to endorse Charter change in any mode provided under the Constitution, it still has a long way to go before the actual amendments of the Constitution can take place, he said. The Supreme Court might even be needed to act as the final arbiter on this matter, he added.

Hannah L. Torregoza

November 24, 2008

Manila Bulletin P.1

As this developed, the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PDSP), headed by National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, expressed disapproval for new attempts in the House to change the Constitution through a Constituent Assembly.

PDSP Secretary-General Ramiel Muria said there are more fundamental needs of the country than changing the Constitution.

He said changing the present Constitution is a move that is “unpopular and very divisive in the present dispensation, as it is widely feared to be a mere ploy for some other political purpose.” (Ben R. Rosario and Ellalyn B. De Vera)

Bro. Eddie Villanueva assails ‘conspiracy’ against Filipino people

Religious leader Bro. Eddie Villanueva yesterday said the move to amend the Constitution through a Constituent Assembly is tantamount to an “act of the devil” and its pursuit could lead to a national suicide that would plunge the Filipino nation into “an era of unmitigated and total chaos, darkness, and instability.”

Villanueva, head of the the Jesus is Lord Worldwide Church (JIL) and chairman of the Bangon Pilipinas Party, said the current moves of congressional leaders to amend the Charter “reflect unrestrained greed to perpetuate oneself in power and a wanton disregard of the voice of the Filipino people.”

“In 2004, they stole the election from its rightful winner. Now, they want to remain in power,” he said.

“The initiative to amend the Constitution through a Constituent Assembly is a conspiracy against the Filipino people and its initiators should know that they are leading the nation to a national suicide,” he said.

Instead of tinkering with the Constitution, Villanueva said, Congress should focus on its lawmaking chores, including the enactment of major pending bills like the Freedom of Information Act of 2008.

Villanueva said that what is happening in Congess is a repeat of the events that led to the ouster of then Speaker Jose de Venecia.

“First, there was the superficial denial and then the behind-the-scenes manipulation and then finally the swift execution,” Villanueva said.

“Despite the negative approval rating, rampant graft and corruption, and the worldwide financial crisis, this government, which has kept urging detractors to stop negativity and focus on the problems of the nation, is hell-bent on perpetuating itself in power at the expense of the true will of the people.”

Malacanang denies it is orchestrating or initiating Cha-cha

Malacanang is leaving to the good judgment and wisdom of Congress to tackle proposed amendments to the Constitution amid renewed opposition from various groups.

Although Malacañang supports political and economic reforms in the Constitution, Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez said groups critical of Charter change should take their concerns to the legislature and not the executive branch.

“The moves to amend our Constitution begin and end in Congress. Malacanang is not the orchestrator or initiator,” Golez said in a radio interview.

He said anti-Charter change groups are barking up the wrong tree when they demand that President Arroyo take steps to stop the Charter dhange moves.

He said Malacañang supports constitutional reforms but these should not include provisions that would extend the term of incumbent officials, including the President, beyond 2010. (Genalyn Kabiling)

NGO for Con-Con with its members to be elected in May, 2010

A group of non-government organizations (NGOs) backed Charter change but through a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) whose members should be elected simultaneously with the national and local officials in the May 10, 2010, elections.

The group said a Con-Con appears to be the only acceptable mode of amending the Constitution right now as shown in almost violent reactions from various sectors of society to a proposal to introduce changes to the country’s fundamenal law through a Constituent Assembly.

Amending the Constitution through a Con-Con is also the stand of the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa), the group said.

The NGOs are led by former World Health Organization consultant Dr. Jose R. Relacion, Florante G. Reyes of the Integrated Labor Organization of the Philippines (ILOP), Dr. Cesar S. Cordova of the Knights of Columbus, former governor of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines for the National Capital Region Jose P. Icaonapo Jr. and Francisco B. Sibayan of Sibayan & Associates.

“By electing the delegates to the Con-Con simultaneously with the election of national and local officials in the May 10, 2010 elections, the election of independent and capable delegates will be possible and political interference will be avoided,” they said.

“At the same time, the fears that Charter change will be used to prolong or extend the term of current officials will vanish.” (E. T. Suarez)”

What’s the rush?

November 24, 2008 06:03 PM Monday

People’s Journal P.3

THE Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, headed by National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, yesterday expressed its disapproval of the new attempts in Congress toward changing the Constitution through a constituent assembly.

Lawyer Ramel Muria, the party general secretary, said the country has more fundamental needs than changing the Constitution. He said Charter change is unpopular and very divisive as it is widely feared to be a mere ploy for some other political purpose.

Among the more important national concerns, Muria noted, is electoral reforms. With the forthcoming 2010 elections, he said government should ensure that there will be clean and credible elections.

He said the PDSP remains supportive of Charter change done at the right time to effect fundamental political reforms the country needs. The PDSP believes Constitutional Convention is the best and the most democratic way of changing the Constitution.

ALSO IN PEOPLE’S TONIGHT P.7 “PDSP junks rush for change”

PDSP rejects rush for Cha-cha

THE Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, which is headed by National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, yesterday expressed its disapproval for the new attempts in Congress toward changing the Constitution through a constituent assembly.

Atty. Ramel Muria, the party general secretary, said there are more fundamental needs of the country than changing the Constitution, a move that is unpopular and very divisive in the present dispensation as it is widely feared to be a mere ploy for some other political purpose.

Among the more important national concerns, Muria noted, is electoral reforms. In the face of the forthcoming 2010 elections, ensuring that there will be clean and credible elections is the more urgent challenge to the nation and the government, he said.

The PDSP leader clarified, however, that his party remains supportive of charter change done at the right time to effect fundamental political reforms the country needs. PDSP believes that when it is time to change the Constitution, it should be through a Constitutional Convention.

Con-con is the best and the most democratic way of changing our Constitution, Muria stressed.