Only 17 signatures needed for constituent assembly

MANILA, Philippines - Charter change (Cha-cha) proponents in the House of Representatives need only 17 signatures more to convene Congress into a constituent assembly (con ass) to revise the Constitution.

In a radio interview yesterday, Speaker Prospero Nograles said 197 signatures are needed to convene the House and the Senate into a constituent assembly and they already have 180 signatures.

Nueva Ecija Rep. Edno Joson, an independent, said there is no more time for administration allies to “dance the Cha-cha.”

“The nation is now in a 2010 mode. People expect next year’s election to be held so they can change their leaders. They have been preparing for it,” he said.

President Arroyo’s Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) party is pushing for Cha-cha via con ass, which can subject the entire Charter to amendments.

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte, who heads Kampi and who drafted the con ass resolution, told reporters that he was no longer leading the campaign to gather signatures for the resolution.

“Speaker Nograles, being the leader of the House and our coalition, is leading the campaign,” he said.

Villafuerte said it is still Kampi’s intention to file the resolution once the goal to collect 197 signatures is reached.

The number represents three-fourths of the combined membership of the two chambers of Congress.

Villafuerte has repeatedly made it clear that congressmen can propose Charter changes by themselves without involving senators in the process.

He argues that all the Constitution requires is that amendments be approved by a “three-fourths vote of all members of Congress,” even if all these members are congressmen.

Senators have unanimously approved a resolution that the process of proposing changes in the Charter involved the Senate.

While helping in the gathering of signatures for the Villafuerte-Kampi con ass resolution, Nograles is pushing for the approval by the House of his Resolution 737, which proposes to amend certain economic provisions of the Constitution to relax restrictions on foreign ownership of land and certain businesses.

The committee on constitutional amendments has already endorsed the Nograles-proposed amendments, which may be taken up in plenary session this week or next week before Congress goes on a month-long Lenten break.

In contrast to Kampi’s Cha-cha via con ass, the Speaker has said his resolution would take the legislative process route, which means it would be sent to the Senate if the House approves it.

According to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, he and his colleagues are open to the Nograles amendments since the process involves them.

‘Impossible dream’

But as far as Cha-cha via con ass is concerned, Enrile said it’s just a waste of time.

Even Sen. Francis Escudero, chairman of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes and laws, said it was time to put the Charter change issue to rest and that lawmakers must now focus on pressing problems of the country in the face of the current global economic crisis.

Enrile said Cha-cha is a non-issue and an “impossible dream” at this time.

Escudero had said he would not act on proposals to amend the Constitution if they were brought to his committee because he believes that it was untimely and must be done after the 2010 elections.

“More than the self-serving movement to change the Constitution, the problems facing every Filipino today is job security. The government has warned of more mass layoffs in the future, once the effects of the crisis are magnified this year,” Escudero said.

Due to the global economic crisis, a number of factories owned by foreign companies, like Intel Philippines, have closed shop, resulting in loss of jobs for thousands of workers.

The Department of Labor and Employment has projected more job losses this year.

“Creating more jobs in the country and securing existing ones should be our main focus right now. Congress should work on passing legislation that will address the economic crisis,” Escudero said.

He said amendments to the Constitution could wait, as any move in that direction would be met with skepticism that it would be used to extend the terms of incumbent elective officials, particularly President Arroyo. — With Aurea Calica