Alvarez: Congress to form Con-Ass to change Charter

It’ll be Con-Ass (Constituent Assembly) not Con-Con (Constitutional Convention) for Charter change, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez revealed on Thursday.

He said this was agreed upon in a post-National Security Council (NSC) meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte, Senate President Koko Pimentel and Budget Secretary Ben Diokno.

“Last night, after the NSC meeting, there was a discussion (among) President , Senate President  and Speaker and Secretary Diokno. It was agreed that Congress will simply form into a Constituent Assembly to revise the present Constitution. It will be cheaper and faster,” Alvarez said at the Management Association of the Philippines forum.

He said that the timetable for the transition from unitary form of government to federalism will be one year to amend the Constitution, ratification during the 2019 midterm elections, and finally in the 2022 national elections, the new Constitution will be followed.

He also said there will be 11 to 12 states under the federal form, with the poor regions merged with the richer regions.

In Davao City, Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate deferred comment Alvarez’ statement.

Zarate said he would seek clarification of Alvarez’s statement.

“We would seek clarification because (President Duterte) had said before that it should be through Constitutional Convention,” Zarate told the Inquirer in a text message./rga

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