Former Chief Justice Reynato Puno. (File photo by RYAN LEAGOGO / INQUIRER.net)
The Consultative Committee to Review the 1987 Constitution (Con-Com) would invite individuals who oppose charter-change (cha-cha) to air their views and address their concerns, former Chief Justice Reynato Puno said on Monday.
“We should also be open to hearing the oppositions to charter change so let us have our antenna up to all ideas wherever they come,” Puno said during the first en banc session of the Con-com.
Critics last week launched the formation of “No to Cha-cha Coalition,” which aims to block the administration’s effort to amend the Constitution.
Two framers of the charter – 1986 Constitutional Commission members Christian Monsod and former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. – are among those leading the alliance.
They warned the public of that the proposed amendments might pave the way for another dictatorship.
“[This charter change] is a lethal experiment, a plunge to death, a leap to hell,” Davide said in a speech during the launch of the coalition. “For those who took oaths to uphold and defend the Constitution to now lure people into an unproved federal system is tyranny.”
READ: ‘No to Cha-cha’ coalition launched
Puno, in an interview with the media after the session, explained that the best draft would need the views of the opposition.
“When we present this draft to the people, we should be able to convince them that this is the best proposition for them and that we have taken to account even the opposition to this proposed constitution,” he said.
The former chief justice emphasized that the committee is an independent body and President Rodrigo Duterte did not impose on the body what provisions should be included in its proposal.
“So far, you’ve heard the President, and even in our dialogue with him, the only thing he emphasized is the need to focus our attention to the problem in Mindanao as among the areas that should be given priority attention,” Puno said. “But otherwise he did not insinuate anything which he would like to be in this proposed Constitution.”
Puno also supported the idea of Sen. Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. to allow ordinary Filipinos to participate in public hearings.
“Because otherwise, it would seem as if we are just interested to hear the side of so-called experts without touching base with the people themselves,” Pimentel told committee members. /atm