Enrile: Lagman looked at old Charter

Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile. INQUIRER/LYN RILLON

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on Sunday advised Albay Representative Edcel Lagman to refer to the 1987 Constitution before warning against an “infirm” attempt to amend the Charter through a  bicameral constituent assembly.

“(Lagman) should again study the Constitution because his arguments are based on the 1935 version, not the 1987 Constitution,” Enrile said.

Lagman earlier warned that the Constitution only speaks of a constituent assembly meeting as a whole as one of the three modes to amend the Charter.  The other two are a constitutional convention and a people’s initiative. He said the proposal for a bicameral constituent assembly which was approved in principle during a legislative summit last week was “infirm.”

Enrile said, “The 1987 version says Congress must hold a joint session and then (legislators) will propose an amendment (that would be considered approved following a) three-fourths vote, with each chamber voting separately.”

“The 1935 Constitution does not have that provision.  It only says Congress may propose amendments to revisions of this Constitution, period,” he said.

The senators have insisted on a separate vote should a constituent assembly be convened as a means of amending constitutional provisions.

Counting the votes

This has been the case since supporters of President Fidel Ramos first floated the idea to amend the Constitution in 1997.

Advocates of Charter change in the House earlier insisted that the votes be counted not separately but as one joint body—thereby giving the House more votes than the Senate.

Enrile also chided critics for linking Malacañang to the revived moves to amend the Charter.

“If Congress, which is tasked by the country with amending the Constitution, considers this a priority, why should they link Malacañang to it,” he said.

“This is just a proposal mentioned during the summit. Yet, there’s so much noise already. We’re just talking here of ideas, not yet the actual amendments,” Enrile said.

Even Enrile’s colleagues in the Senate were divided on whether or not the attempt to pursue Charter changes was  timely.

Senators Francis Pangilinan and Joker Arroyo pooh-poohed the idea.

Pangilinan said the government should not yet consider amendments since it had not even fully enacted many of the laws passed by Congress.

Arroyo warned that the personal interests of some legislators could push them to tinker with provisions that would extend their terms.

Senator Pia Cayetano said the minority bloc was not consulted at all before Senate leaders announced the plan to amend the Charter.

Not a Palace priority

Malacañang insisted that Charter change was not a priority of the Aquino administration, but deferred to Congress’ independence to pursue its own legislative agenda.

“Whenever we are asked, our response remains: This is not a priority of President Aquino,” Undersecretary Abigail Valte, deputy presidential spokesperson, said over state-run Radyo ng Bayan.

The executive branch, however, recognizes the independence of the Senate and the House of Representatives to propose measures, and couldn’t say if President Aquino would go to the extent of talking his allies out of it.

“The Senate and the House of Representatives are independent and co-equal branches of government,” Valte said. She said she was not aware if the  President would discuss this issue with his allies in the upper and lower chambers of Congress.

An Waray party-list Representative Florencio Noel, a member of the majority coalition, said moves to amend economic provisions in the Constitution would not progress in Congress unless the President threw his full support behind it.

“I don’t think Charter change moves in the House will fly unless President Aquino declares that he is all out for it. There are essential bills that we need to pass and we are focused on that,” Noel said  in a phone interview.

Another LP member, Eastern Samar Representative Benjamin Evardone, suggested that the majority coalition hold a caucus to come up with a united stand

Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Sur Representative Rodolfo Farinas said he was unsure whether the administration coalition was “solid”  behind Charter change since no formal discussions had transpired on the issue.

“I for one do not subscribe to the idea,” he said. With reports from Gil Cabacungan and TJ Burgonio