Puno launches Charter change drive through Con-con
Former chief justice Reynato Puno has urged Congress to pass a law allowing the nomination of delegates to a constitutional convention (Con-con) alongside the May 9, 2016, national elections.
Puno was keynote speaker at the gathering Wednesday of Charter-change proponents that included prominent public officials such as former vice president Teofisto Guingona Jr., former Senate president Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and former budget secretary Salvador Enriquez Jr. and various representatives of key sectors.
Launched last month, convenors of the movement called Bagong Sistema, Bagong Pag-asa called on legislators to allow Charter change by passing a resolution calling for a Con-con and prescribing the manner of the election and selection of delegates.
The group had proposed that the election of Con-con delegates be held simultaneously with the May 9, 2016, presidential polls.
“We want to see a Con-con (composed) of elected and appointed delegates. We don’t want it to be dominated by politicians,” Puno said when interviewed in the sidelines of the summit.
He said former presidents, justices, top legislators and former heads of constitutional bodies can be appointed in the Con-con while other delegates can be selected by a group of stakeholders.
“They (lawmakers) have time to pass less important matters, they have time to pass it,” Puno said.
Puno said Charter change should be an election issue and challenged presidential candidates to state whether they will include constitutional change in their platform.
