MANILA, Philippines - The 1987 Constitution may have to be amended to balance the voting power of the two chambers of Congress on the revocation of martial law, a former member of the 1987 Constitutional Commission (Concom) said.

Rene Sarmiento, a member of the Concom which drafted the 1987 Charter, told abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak that, under the current provision in the Constitution, the power of of the legislators to repeal the martial law proclamation boils down to a numbers game.

The 1987 Constitution mandates Congress to vote jointly, and specifies that a majority vote from Congress can invalidate the proclamation of military rule.

“The Senate is disadvantantaged by force of numbers,” Sarmiento, now a Comelec commissioner, said in a phone interview.

“This (provision) is worth revisiting," he stressed.

The 23-member Senate stands to be outvoted by the 268-member House of Representatives as they vote jointly on the matter of repealing the proclamation of martial law or shortening its period of implementation.

A majority of 147 votes from Congress would revoke Presidential Proclamation 1959 imposing martial law in Maguindanao.

The president has the power to impose martial rule for 60 days.

Changing political realities

Sarmiento explained that when the charter was drafted in 1986, Concom members did not foresee that the political scene would evolve to a point where the lower chamber would be dominated by Malacañang allies, making the lower House the key player when it comes to revoking martial law.

“We did not anticipate the changing political realities,” he said.

For one, House Speaker Prospero Nograles, an Arroyo ally, has expressed confidence that a majority of the members of the House of Representatives would back the declaration of Proclamation No. 1959, which placed the province of Maguindanao under martial law following the killing of 57 people by alleged private armies of the Ampatuans.

On the other hand, a majority in the Senate want to have the proclamation revoked. But this translates to only 17 lawmakers.

The control of Arroyo’s allies over the lower house earlier became palpable during the passage of House Resolution 1109, which called for the House of Representatives to convene itself into a constituent assembly and amend the charter.

This move for Charter change did not happen, however, as questions were raised on the how the legislative should vote – jointly or separately. The Constitution, unlike on the issue of voting on the revocation of martial law, is ambiguous on the voting requirements for charter change.

Obey Constitution

Meanwhile, various resolutions calling for the revocation of martial law have been filed.

Thirty-four lawmakers from the lower chamber signed separate resolutions, which said that the proclamation lacked factual and legal bases.

On the other hand, 17 senators signed Resolution No. 1522, authored by Sen. Franciso Pangilinan, which also says that the proclamation had no legal leg to stand on.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said that a resolution signed by the majority of Congress would be enough to revoke the proclamation of martial law.