Senator Francis Pangilinan–EDWIN BACASMAS
The Senate will not rush its deliberations on resolutions for the amendment of the 1987 Constitution now that its committee on amendments and revision of codes is ready to resume hearings on Charter revision on Wednesday.
Although Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III is seeking to submit proposed amendments to the Constitution to the people for approval in a plebiscite to be held simultaneously with midterm elections next year, and Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez is pushing for the holding of the plebiscite simultaneously with the barangay election in May this year, Sen. Francis Pangilinan, the committee chair, said he did not want to rush the process.
What is federalism?
“Many people do not understand the issue on federalism and then we will rush to pass [the Charter change resolutions]. There should be a widespread dissemination of information [and] debate on what should be best before we put it to a vote or in a plebiscite,” Pangilinan said in a radio interview on Sunday.
“We also want to make sure and make clear that we will not allow [this process] to be railroaded, we will not allow this to be forced, and we will also not allow this to be unnecessarily delayed,” said Pangilinan, president of the opposition Liberal Party (LP).
Pangilinan also vowed transparency in the hearings and gave assurance that “all voices [would] be heard” so that there would be a good debate.
“Even if I’m with the LP, we are not taking up the constitutional amendments for the interest of just one party but the interest of the republic and our people,” he said.
The resolutions pending on the committee all seek constitutional amendment through a constitutional convention, but both Pimentel and Sen. Panfilo Lacson are filing separate resolutions that will have the Senate, sitting as a constituent assembly, introduce amendments to the Constitution.
Both Pimentel and Alvarez want proposed amendments to include a shift to federalism, which their party, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan, and President Duterte himself are pushing.
Answers to vital questions
In the radio interview, Pangilinan said questions about federalism would be asked at the hearings, and these included the objective of federalism and whether this would provide more jobs, reduce poverty and improve the economy.
“In other words, this should be talked about and explained first before Charter change happens,” he said.
Among the questions the hearings will try to answer, Pangilinan said, is whether there is a need to amend the Constitution or whether the amendment should be through a constitutional convention or a constituent assembly.
Another crucial question is whether the Senate and the House should vote jointly or separately on the proposed amendments, he said.
Pangilinan said he had always taken the stance that the Senate and the House should vote separately.
Drilon original
He said Lacson’s proposal for the Senate to sit as a constituent assembly to introduce amendments to the Constitution was first raised by Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon before the 2007 elections.
Drilon explained then that Congress should propose amendments to the Constitution “in the same way we propose bills” and that the proposed amendments should be voted upon separately by three-fourths of each chamber, Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan’s committee has invited to the hearing three former Chief Justices—Hilario Davide Jr., Artemio Panganiban Jr. and Reynato Puno—as well as former Supreme Court justices and members of the Constitutional Commission that drafted the 1987 Constitution.
Also invited were Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo and members of the academic community. —CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO