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MANILA – Debates dragged for hours but it took only a few seconds for the House of Representatives to approve a resolution that would convene Congress into a constituent assembly to amend the 1987 Constitution.
With the “ayes” registering a louder vote than the “nays,” the House of Representatives approved House Resolution 1109 last night, the eve of the last day of sessions before Congress adjourns.
But proponents of the measure are still in quandary if the House can convene as an assembly on its own. Several lawmakers, including those from the majority bloc, said the Senate should be part of the process of the constituent assembly.
“It always takes two to dance the Cha cha (Charter change),” Rep. Pablo Garcia of Cebu's 2nd district told the plenary during deliberations of the controversial measure.
By his interpretation, Garcia said HR 1109 was “just an invitation to both Houses to convene in order to propose amendments to or revise the Constitution.”
La Union Rep. Victor Ortega, House committee chairman on constitutional amendments, echoed that the Senate could not be ignored in the process of convening a constituent assembly.
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte said he drafted the resolution, but that it’s main author was Speaker Prospero Nograles.
Villafuerte had withdrawn his signature to the resolution, saying that there was no more time to rewrite the Constitution with barely a year to go before the May 2010 election.
“I have withdrawn my signature and I’m not supporting this resolution anymore,” Villafuerte said. “There’s a group in the majority that’s undermining the resolution they are sponsoring.”
Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora questioned the haste with which it was being discussed in plenary, with only two session days left and with other key legislation pending for passage.
“Why the shortcut? Why not go for the long haul, for the harder route? Why not eschew the easy path and make the amendments to the Constitution as important as the role of the committee on constitutional amendments?” Zamora said.
In the resolution, it was interpreted that voting should be done upon the three-fourths of “all the members of Congress, not three-fourths of each House voting separately.”
Proponents of this measure hoped that this would prompt someone to question it before the Supreme Court, so that the tribunal could decide whether voting by the two chambers of Congress should be done jointly or separately.
“So what is the point of all of this, if there is no justiciable controversy . . . if you agree with me that the Senate is part of the process?” Zamora said.
President Macapagal-Arroyo reportedly gave tacit approval for Lakas-Kampi CMD allies in the House to push for the passage of Resolution 1109.
Speaker Nograles said the decision to push for Resolution 1109 over his own Resolution 737, seeking to lift constitutional limits on foreign investments through regular legislation or the “fourth mode,” was reached during the official announcement of the Lakas-Kampi merger last Thursday in a meeting presided by President Arroyo.
“The leaders of Lakas and Kampi decided in that meeting that this is one of the things that we will push for. I will not deny that she was present when we decided on that but she did not say anything,” said Nograles.
Resolution 1109 was drafted by former Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) president, congressman Villafuerte, and aggressively promoted for signatures in the House by President Arroyo's eldest son, Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo.
Even though Villafuerte had decided to abandon Resoluition 1109, the President's allies in the House committee on constitutional amendments voted to have it debated on the floor ahead of 737, which had been pending for more than a month.
Nograles explained that Resolution 1109 was easier to pass in the House because it only required a simple majority vote or (136 votes) compared to 737 which needed three-fourth votes (199 votes).
The United Opposition (Uno) has called on an emergency meeting with members of people's organization and civil society groups today to map out plans to protest against Con-ass.
Uno president and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said the railroading of the Con-ass showed the duplicity behind Arroyo's assurances that there would be elections in 2010.
Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo warned that HR 1109 could be used to keep President Macapagal Arroyo in power despite its provisions saying that there should be no term extension of sitting officials and that there would be elections in 2010.
In interpellating sponsor Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga, Ocampo pointed out that a constituent assembly, once convened, would have no boundaries or restrictions.
“Looking at it other way, would it not be possible, for instance, if the constituent assembly proceeds and requires three fourths majority to shift from presidential to parliamentary, then the situation would change. Would not such a change in form of government enable current president and vice president to stay in power by running as members of parliament in the next election? Same with senators and congressmen,” Ocampo said.
Barzaga replied that "well of course everything will be a possibility."
He added that he would comply with the undertaking with the provisions of the resolution, although he could not speak for his colleagues.
Ocampo said he pointed out that the provisions against term extension and the cancellation of the 2010 polls were no guarantees at all and in fact made HR 1109 "deceptive."
“I think this is one aspect where there is very clear deception trying to present to people an assurance,” he said. Inquirer
