Senate started Con-ass, not us--House leaders
by Carmela Fonbuena, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak | 06/08/2009 7:33 PM
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MANILA - Amid growing protests nationwide, House leaders on Monday defended--with a little bitterness--its approval of House Resolution (HR) 1109 convening Congress into a Constituent assembly (Con-ass) to amend the Constitution.
House Speaker Prospero Nograles recalled that it was the Senate that first moved to convene Congress into a Constituent assembly.
In June 2008, 15 senators signed Joint Congressional Resolution 10 which proposed to convene Congress into a Constituent assembly to change the present presidential form of government to a federal system.
"When the Senate approved Joint Congressional Resolution 10, which proposes to change the present system of government to federal system, even the so-called civil society, our Church leaders and the traditionally noisy political personalities were nowhere in sight. These personalities were eerily quiet and unconcerned when, in fact, the Joint Congressional Resolution has the same purpose, which is to amend the Constitution. And it was overwhelmingly signed by 15 senators. Is it because the House is an administration ally?" Nograles pointed out.
Joint Congressional Resolution 10 was also met with protests, but not in the way HR 1009 is being attacked by various sectors.
Nograles later filed House Resolution 737, which seeks to lift the restrictions on foreign investments enshrined in the 1987 Constitution.
Shifting tides
HR 1109 was subsequently drafted and circulated for signatures, but it wasn't filed until April 2009. HR 1109 seeks to convene Congress into a Constituent assembly and approve charter amendments through "joint voting" regardless of whether the Senate participates.
As opposed to separate voting by the two chambers, joint voting would allow the 265-member House of Representatives to meet the three-fourths vote needed to approve an amendment to the Constitution without any help from a single senator.
In December 2008, even before HR 1109 was filed, the Senate passed Resolution 154 declaring as unconstitutional any attempt by the House of Representatives to unilaterally propose amendments to the Constitution.
"When the House wanted to go along with the Constituent assembly, slowly, interest in the Senate dissipated. I think, one by one, they withdrew their signatures from the resolution calling for a Constituent assembly. Most of them decided after all that Constitutional Convention is a better mode," added La Union Rep. Victor Ortega, chair of the House committee on constitutional amendments.
Even if Ortega is against the convening of a Constituent assembly without the participation of the Senate, he said he wants the Supreme Court to finally decide on the constitutionality of joint voting by both Houses to amend the charter.
"What is odd about what is happening now is, there are many who are against this resolution have been pro-charter change before," added Nueva Ecija Rep. Rodolfo Antonino, one of the proponents of HR 1109.
"I think there is a common agreement among everybody that there is really a need for charter change. This has been debated for so long. We've gone through three presidents. The response has always been, 'It is not the right time.' When will be the right time?," he added.
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