2 solons behind draft federal charter support ‘no-el’ in 2019

The two lawmakers who drafted the federal charter replacing the 1987 Constitution were receptive to the possibility of a no-election scenario in 2019.

ABS Rep. Eugene De Vera and Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. said they were supportive of House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s idea of a no-election situation under the transitory period in the shift to federal government.

“I’m inclined to favor his (Alvarez) proposal,” De Vera said in a press briefing on Monday.

“Yes, I’m reconsidering it too,” Gonzales, meanwhile, said.

Last August, De Vera and Gonzales presented to the constitutional amendments committee hearing the draft of the federal charter attached to Resolution of Both Houses 8, which calls on the House and the Senate to form as a constituent assembly and propose constitutional amendments.

De Vera, however, thought it would be “too much” for the transition period to last for 10 years, as earlier floated by several Congress leaders and members.

“I think ‘yung 10 years sobra naman (10 years is too much). I don’t agree with that. What we’re trying to say, the full implementation of the federal system will take 10 years but the transition period would only last for a few years,” he said.

The transition period to federalism, according to De Vera, will only take a minimum of one year to a maximum of three years “until President Duterte steps down in 2022.”

Some opposition lawmakers warned about the possibility of having Duterte and Congress members extending their terms for 10 more years once federalism reaches full swing. /je