House panel OKs Con-Con to amend 1987 Constitution

MANILA, Philippines — Voting 16-3 with one abstention, the committee on constitutional amendments of the House of Representatives yesterday approved a resolution that would pave the way for a Constitutional Convention as a way to introduce amendments to the 1987 Constitution.

After holding seven public consultations that include out-of-town meetings, the panel, headed by Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, agreed to stamp their approval on a still unnumbered House Resolution calling for a Con-Con.

Rodriguez, along with Reps. LRay Villafuerte, Ron Salo and several other proponents of the Con-Con mode, assuaged fears of critics that they are railroading the process, saying it is just a “general statement” of committee members’ sentiments.

“The approval of this resolution is a general statement of our committee, and there will be an accompanying bill that will be discussed after this,” the Mindanao lawmaker insisted, where election of Con-Con delegates will be included in this year’s Oct. 30 elections.

Members of the panel voted that election of delegates will be held “simultaneously” with the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections this year, even as two-thirds of combined number of senators and congressmen, voting separately, should call for a Con-Con.

Villafuerte pointed out that the best time for charter change to happen is right now at the start of the Marcos presidency when such an initiative will not raise doubts about a possible hidden agenda to extend terms of incumbent elective officials.

On the other hand, independent opposition congressman Edcel Lagman of Albay, president of the opposition Liberal Party, wanted President Marcos to accede to the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction to have former president Rodrigo Duterte investigated for human rights violations, and former senator Leila de Lima to be freed from jail. Lagman said these moves would “greatly enhance” the entry of foreign investments without amending the Charter.

Party-list group Gabriela voted no to the administration lawmakers’ move, noting that problems like “escalating prices, low wages, massive hunger, joblessness, landlessness” do not stem from the Constitution.