MANILA - A few hours before Congress goes into a joint session for President Arroyo's State of the Nation Address (SONA), House Speaker Nograles said they will not force the convening of a Constituent assembly (con-ass) right after the speech.

"We cannot do it this afternoon. We will only listen to the SONA. Nothing more," he told House reporters.

Anti-Charter change advocates fear that congressmen will take advantage of the joint session to convene a constituent assembly.

House Resolution 1109, which was passed last June, calls for the convening of a constituent assembly, which would then draft its own rules. Three-fourths of the assembly, voting jointly, would approve charter amendments.

As opposed to separate voting, joint voting will allow the House of Representatives to bypass the Senate.

However, if the attendance in Monday's morning session would be the same in the afternoon, it would not be enough to allow the House to approve a Constitutional amendment. Only 211 of the 265 members were present. Congress would need 225 votes to approve an amendment.

"No need to worry. We will lay our cards on the table. No trickery. No sneaking," Nograles said.

"We have never resorted to dubious means to get legislation passed. We can say, under our watch, we have always been transparent," he added.

The House leadership is yet to meet on their next step after the approval of HR 1109. The resolution also states that after the constituent assembly is convened, the body would have to draft and approve its own rules.

Nograles said is open to other options on charter change, including House Resolution on 737 on opening up the economy to foreign invesments, and the possibility of a Constitutional Convention as the mode to amend the charter.