Aquino hopes Congress won’t speed up Cha-cha under Arroyo

Former president Benigno Aquino III said he hopes that Congress, now under his predecessor Speaker Gloria Arroyo, will not resort to the speedy passage of the proposed Charter change (Cha-cha) despite having only limited time until the end of the 17th Congress.

“I don’t know what their plans are… does that mean everything is impossible? Hindi, pero ‘yung papaspasan, ‘yung sagasaan, [those are the] words that come into mind. Sana hindi ganun,” Aquino told reporters on Wednesday at the Manila Memorial Park in Sucat, Parañaque where he visited the grave of his mother, the late President Cory Aquino, during her ninth death anniversary.

“Sana we proceed in an ordained manner to discuss the merits of the proposed Charter change,” he added.

Earlier, Aquino wondered what else the newly-elected Speaker could do as the leader of the House of Representatives considering that there only a few months left until the end of the current Congress and her term.

Aquino, who had also served as a lawmaker representing the 2nd District of Tarlac, said he was aware of the difficulty of accomplishing legislative work with just limited time.

“Tanong natin dito: Sana wala namang napaplanong paspasan dito sa natitirang maiiksing panahon,” he added.

The House has already approved a resolution calling for a constituent assembly or “Con-ass” to amend the Constitution, while a similar measure remains pending in the Senate.

During Arroyo’s term as president, there were also moves to call for a constituent assembly, which also got stuck on the issue of voting. /je