MANILA - Warning of a serious danger to the administration, President Arroyo’s ally Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia vowed to stop all moves in the House to convene a Senate-less Constituent assembly (Con-ass).  

“It’s dangerous....People now are demonstrating for no reason or for the wrong reason. The moment we move once step higher and convene a constituent assembly, it will be the 'second envelope',” Garcia, a co-sponsor of the Con-ass resolution, said.

During then President Joseph Estrada's impeachment trial in January 2001, his allies in the Senate blocked the opening of the second envelope believed to contain crucial evidence against Estrada. This triggered the second people power revolt at EDSA which forced Estrada to step down.

The continued moves to convene the assembly also arms the opposition with the weapon to attack and hurt the chances of administration candidates in the 2010 elections, Garcia said.

“This is going to be an election issue. They will be demonstrating again against the administration saying it is for prolonging the term [of the President]," he said. “It will not affect us locally, but nationally, there are people who want this issue alive and hanging."

A foolish move

Even if the intent is only to trigger a justiciable controversy before the Supreme Court, Garcia said it will be “foolish.” He said the Supreme Court will surely declare a Senate-less Constituent assembly unconstitutional.
 
“Clearly, we do not have any authority to propose amendments. We are not Congress although they call us congressmen,” he added.

"It is a matter of duty on the part of the House to send it to the Senate if the House believes that they are also members of Congress. It will be disrespectful on the part of the House not to send the resolution to whom it is really intended," said Garcia.

House Resolution 1109 says: "Now, therefore, be it resolved that the members of Congress be convened for the purpose of proposing amendments to, or revision of the Constitution upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members and that upon its being convened shall adopt its rules of procedures that shall govern its proceeding."

The resolution also says that "three-fourths of all members of Congress" means "3/4 of the Congressmen and Senators taken together in the calculation of 3/4 of the members of Congress, without distinction as to which institution of Congress they belong to."

As opposed to separate voting, joint voting will allow the 267-member House of Representatives to complete the necessary three-fourths vote (220 votes) to approve a constitutional amendment.

(The actual number of votes required has been changing since new party-list representatives are being sworn in as a result of the new Supreme Court computation on party-list representation.)

Pending motion

Garcia surprised his colleagues in last Tuesday's session when he moved to immediately transmit the controversial HR 1109 convening Congress into a Constituent assembly through joint voting. (Read: Garcia: Send Con-ass to Senate, pronto!) The motion was later deferred.

Garcia said House Speaker Prospero Nograles assured him that it will be discussed next week upon his return from the the U.S. “I will press for it. I want to protect him (Nograles). I want to protect the administration,” he said.    

He also acknowledged that transmitting HR 1109 to the Senate is tantamount to killing the measure.

“That is true. That is the prerogative of the Senate. We cannot do it alone. Of course, it [Senate] will not act on it. But it was filed and approved in the House. It has to go through the normal process,” he said.  

But Congress may entertain another route to Charter change “There can be Charter change through a Constitutional convention. That is viable. I will support that," Garcia added. 
 
It is also the preferred mode of the Senate for charter change.