Arroyo: Term limits for lawmakers under federal gov’t a ‘collegial decision’
Lifting the term limits for members of Congress will be a “collegial decision” that’s still up approval, Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said on Monday.
“It’s really a collegial decision,” Arroyo told reporters when asked about the lack of a provision indicating the term limits of senators and congressmen under the proposed federal charter which she filed along with colleagues at the lower chamber.
The former President-turned-Pampanga 2nd District representative also said the only thing she added to make the draft her version was a provision to establish the federal states.
“The only thing I added was a provision that is establishing the federal states, there’s a mechanism to establish federal states. All the other provisions were already submitted by the Con-com (Consultative Committee)…” she said. “That’s the only thing I added to make it my version.”
The House constitutional amendments panel has approved and referred to the plenary the resolution of both Houses of Congress No. 15 under committee report No. 881, which provides for a presidential-bicameral-federal system of government.
The Arroyo-led draft charter is different from Con-com’s draft federal charter approved last July 3.
READ: Duterte’s Con-com OKs final draft of federal Constitution
Conrado “Ding” Generoso, the spokesman of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Con-com, has raised several red flags on the House draft charter.
READ: Arroyo’s draft charter ‘could be worse than 1935 Constitution’—Generoso
Under the House draft, members of Congress– senators and congressmen– would be elected for a term of four years. There was no term limit provided, but the lawmakers should be college degree holders.
The first election under the proposed Constitution would be held on the second Monday of May 2022.
Read the copy of the House federal charter draft here:
