Pimentel: House going alone on ConAss just on Alvarez's mind
MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives cannot convene Congress into a constituent assembly to amend the constitution without the cooperation of the Senate, former Senate President Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel Jr. said on Tuesday.
Pimentel's statement was made amid rumors that President Rodrigo Duterte's State of the Nation Address on Monday would be used to convene a constituent assembly to revise the 1987 Constitution.
According to Pimentel, saying that a resolution from the House convening Congress into the body which would tackle amendments to the Constitution is enough was just on the mind of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
He stressed for the process to start both the Senate and the House should issue resolutions convening the chambers into a constituent assembly.
"It's just on the mind of Alvarez. That cannot happen," Pimentel answered when asked by Sen. Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV if the House could do it alone during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes.
"It cannot be done by only the Lower House," Pimentel, a staunch advocate of federalism in the country, said.
Pimentel's son, Sen. Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, and Alvarez are ranking members of Duterte's PDP-Laban party.
Members of the consultative committee tasked by Duterte to draft the proposed federal constitution who attended the Senate panel hearing said that the Senate and the House should vote separately on amendments to the Charter if they would convene as a constituent assembly.
"I expressed my personal opinion that the voting should be done separately by both Houses of Congress and I gave my reasons for that opinion. Historical reasons, coherent reading of the different provisions of the Constitution and the need to know the intent of the makers of our Constitution," retired Chief Justice Reynato Puno, the chairman of the consultative committee, said.
Pun, however,r said that he recognized that there was another "school of thought" on the issue and that the conflict should be decided by the Supreme Court.
Aside from Puno and Pimentel, panel members retired Associate Justice Eduardo Nachura, Julio Teehankee and Edmund Tayao said the voting should be separate.
Pimentel explained that voting jointly would emasculate the Senate as the numerically superior House could outvote the senators.
Aquino said that both administration and opposition senators would not agree to the convening of a constituent assembly on Monday, which he described as a "bastardization" of the Charter.
"I doubt that any senator, opposition or administration, will allow a bastardization of the constitutionally mandated process," he said in a statement.
Rep. Gary Alejano (Magdalo party-list) meanwhile said that revising the 1987 Constitution was "premature" considering the results of a survey showing that a majority of Filipinos were opposed to charter change, at least for now.
"The survey reveals that aside from not being in favor of charter change and shift to federalism, majority of the Filipinos barely know the contents of the Constitution. Clearly, there is no public clamor. Worse, the people do not have the capacity and understanding, as of the moment, to engage in the process of charter change. This attempt is premature," he said in a statement.
He said that this low level of support could be because the government's information drive was focused on recruiting support for the president and PDP-Laban instead of on the merits of the proposed federal constitution.
The opposition lawmaker also urged the government to educate the public, so they could be involved in the process.
He also stressed that the process should not be hastened as it should be thoroughly discussed.
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