Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Despite fears raised over amending the Constitution, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan vowed on Tuesday to promptly conduct hearings on the proposed Charter change (Cha-cha) as he promised that this would not be a cause of delay.
Pangilinan chairs the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes, which is expected to handle any proposals to amend the Charter.
“We will conduct hearings promptly. We will not be a cause for delay but neither will we be pressured into coming up with a hastily crafted committee report,” Pangilinan said in a text message.
“As chair of the committee, we will conduct hearings when session resumes and hear all sides on the matter of Charter change,” the senator said in a separate message.
READ: Palace takes Cha-cha plan to Senate
Pangilinan earlier warned of possible scenarios once the proposed shift to a federal form of government pushes through, including a 10-year transition period that might allegedly result to the scrapping of the 2019 midterm elections and push the term extensions of all incumbent officials.
“Hindi lang si PRRD (President Rodrigo Duterte) ang may term extension, lahat ng kongresista at mga senador term extension din kaya wala ng eleksyon, wala ng gastos ang mga pulitiko, wala ng bababa sa pwesto. At dahil wala ng eleksyon, appointed na muna ang lahat ng mga lokal na opisyal,” Pangilinan said in a statement on January 4.
(Not just PRRD gets a term extension, all of the congressmen and senators will have their term extended and there will be no more elections, no more expenses for the politicians, no one will step down from their position. And because there will be no elections, all the local government officials will be appointed.)
“Ipagtanggol ang demokrasya! Sigaw ng taumbayan, trabaho, murang pagkain at dagdag na kita hindi Chacha!” the senator said.
(Defend the democracy! The cry of the people: jobs, affordable food and hike in salary, not Chacha.)
While a measure proposing a federal form of government has yet to be filed in the Senate, Pangilinan said several resolutions calling for Charter change have been filed by Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, and Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri and Richard Gordon.
“These measures will be heard together and we will tackle questions such as whether it ought to be Con-ass (Constitutional assembly) or Con-con (Constitutional convention), whether the voting is separate or joint as well as tackle the proposal to the shift to a federal form of government,” Pangilinan said in the same text messages.
“In the end, the timetable is a matter that we will discuss with the committee members and the Senate leadership and try and come up with a consensus,” he added. /jpv