MANILA, Philippines—Faced with the prospect of being ousted less than 10 months in office, Speaker Prospero Nograles has backpedaled on contradicting the preferred mode of the Kilusan ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) in amending the Charter.

A day after declaring support for a constitutional convention after the 2010 elections, (as proposed by Sen. Mar Roxas), Nograles issued a statement saying that a constituent assembly before 2010 (as proposed by Kampi, President Macapagal-Arroyo’s party), remained his first option for constitutional reform.

But talk of a mutiny in the House persisted Friday.

Sorsogon Rep. Jose Solis of Kampi even warned at a forum that Nograles would suffer the fate of Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia, the man he replaced as Speaker, if he dropped the Con-ass in favor of a constitutional convention as means to achieve Charter change (Cha-cha).

Nograles said a constitutional convention would be the “next best step” if the Supreme Court rejects the view of the proponents of a constituent assembly (Con-ass) that the three-fourths vote of Congress needed for Charter change can be achieved by joint voting of the two chambers.

Nograles, a stalwart of the ruling Lakas-NUCD, was not at the top-level meeting held on Wednesday night at the office of House Majority Leader Art Defensor. Among those present were the Con-ass proponents, Camarines Sur Rep. and Kampi president Luis Villafuerte and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

But Defensor denied talk that the meeting was held to plot Nograles’ ouster, which both he and Cavite Rep. Crispin Remulla, who attended the meeting, described as a prospect difficult to pull off.

“He (Nograles) was not at the meeting because he is in the United States to watch the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar de la Hoya,” Defensor told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (the parent company of INQUIRER.net).

Clarification

Apparently feeling the heat, Nograles issued the statement clarifying his stance.

“There is no need for that [ouster plot]. It’s just a simple numbers game. My leadership position is at the pleasure of the majority, and I am ready to go when the majority says so. I have no illusions about it and my cards are always on the table without any hidden agenda,” he said.

Nograles also said his colleagues should have “an open mind on other proposals related to Cha-cha.”

“If the Supreme Court says that the determination of Con-ass can be voted jointly by the Senate and the House, we can go for it. But if it says otherwise and maintains that this should be voted separately, then we can go for a Con-con (constitutional convention),” Nograles said.

He pointed out that he himself had signed Villafuerte’s Con-ass resolution seeking the amendment of the Charter without the participation of the Senate.

‘Compromise’ proposal

House leaders are trying to formulate a Charter change proposal that would be acceptable not only to the Senate but also to the public.

Defensor told the Inquirer that the House must decide on a “compromise” proposal that would address all the concerns raised against Charter change, specifically the lifting of term limits on the President and other incumbent officials, and the deferment of the 2010 presidential election.

“We are aware of the criticisms and the suspicions, but we should not take these badly. But we cannot do anything if they believe we have another agenda. Instead, we look at [criticisms] as a caution to make Charter change more acceptable,” Defensor said.

Remulla said the main points for the House to tackle should not include an extension of the term of Ms Arroyo, the most disliked President since pollsters started tracking the trust ratings of Philippine leaders.

Villafuerte said he would quit if the Con-ass includes term extensions for incumbent officials or a no-el (no election) scenario in 2010, according to Remulla.

Only equity limits

At this point, Remulla said, the House was basically interested in changing only the equity limits imposed on foreign investors, as proposed in the resolution filed by Nograles.

But neither Defensor nor Remulla would say whether the House would drop its plan to push the envelope in the Con-ass initiative by seeking a final resolution from the Supreme Court.

They did admit, however, that it would be difficult to implement a Con-ass without the Senate’s agreement.