Ejercito warns vs railroading planned shift to federalism

Do not  “railroad a process that would fundamentally alter our system of government,” Senator JV Ejercito said on Wednesday.

Ejercito aired his appeal on social media amid fresh talks about amending the 1987 Constitution, specifically the proposal to shift from the present unitary to federal form of government.

“We should not railroad a process that would fundamentally alter our system of government. But the most important issue for me is that the Congress has to vote separately,” the senator wrote on Twitter.

“We cannot rush matters like changing the form of government. This matter has to be studied carefully,” he said in a text message when sought to elaborate his statement.

While Congress leaders have reportedly agreed to propose amendments to the Constitution through a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass), some congressmen, including Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, believe that they should vote jointly on the issue.

“I am amenable to forming Congress into a Constituent Assembly. We are, after all, duly-elected representatives of the people,” Ejercito said.

And even as he also agreed that convening a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) was “ideal,” the senator, however, thought it could be “impractical” at this point.

“Con-Ass will save us money, time and resources without sacrificing the mandate of the people. Remember that the 1987 Constitution allows for three ways to change the Charter, Con-Ass being one of them,” he pointed out.

Some also raised the possibility that the Senate might be abolished if the Charter change (Cha-cha) initiative pushes through.

But this early, Ejercito indicated that he would not  support any moves that would “diminish the power and independence” of the Senate.

“I am not prepared to support a process that would diminish the power and independence of the upper chamber,” said the senator, who is part of the Senate majority bloc.

Ejercito, nevertheless, saw the need to start a serious study and thorough debates on the Cha-cha issue.

“But two points are very important to me about the process: We should not rush it and set unrealistic timelines, and both houses of Congress should vote separately,” he stressed.         /kga