(Update) Arroyo allies keep Cha-cha alive
| 05/26/2009 6:20 PM
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The House committee on constitutional amendments on Tuesday voted 19 to 6 to send House Resolution 1109 calling for Charter change (Cha-cha) back to the plenary for debates.
Also known as the "Villafuerte resolution," the measure seeks to convene Congress into a constituent assembly which will propose charter amendments. Voting on the amendments will be done jointly by both houses instead of separately.
However, during Tuesday's hearing, two constitutional experts told the committee that the constituent assembly mode requires both houses to meet in joint session, but they should vote separately on charter amendments.
Ateneo law school Dean Emeritus Fr. Joaquin Bernas and retired Supreme Court Justice Vicente Mendoza agreed that voting on charter amendments by the constituent assembly should be done by both houses separately.
They said the purpose of separate three-fourths voting is not for check and balance, but for both houses to study the issue well and assess each house's position on charter amendments.
Fr. Bernas also agreed with House Speaker Prospero Nograles' charter change resolution, House Res. 737, through the ordinary legislative process.
However, Bernas said voting on the charter amendments through ordinary legislation should be done via separate three-fourths vote of both houses.
If there are conflicting versions in the charter amendments, these can be resolved through a bicameral conference committee.
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte, president of the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi), initiated House Res. 1109 but he has since abandoned the measure, saying there is no longer any time for it. -- reports from Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News; Carmela Fonbuena, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak
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