MANILA – The controversial issue of Charter change (Cha-cha) remained high on the list of lawmakers as the House of Representatives and the Senate resumed session on Monday after a month-long Christmas break.
Congressman Victor Ortega of La Union province in Northern Luzon announced the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, which he chairs, will meet on January 27, exactly a week after the resumption of the session, to vote on a resolution sponsored by Speaker Prospero Nograles.
The Nograles resolution seeks to amend the 1987 Constitution to remove its “restrictive” provisions and allow, for instance, foreign corporations and associations to own land in the Philippines.
Ironically, it was Nograles himself who called for a ceasefire before Congress went on recess due to the intense “word war” that arose from the determined efforts of administration lawmakers to revive Cha-cha.
According to Nograles, it was best for Congress to concentrate instead on passing vital legislation that will help ease the adverse impact of the worsening global financial crunch on the economy and especially on the mostly poor Filipinos.
But in a sudden turnaround, Nograles said he welcomed the decision of the Ortega committee to vote on his resolution which, he claimed, will encourage foreign businessmen to invest in the country despite the ongoing crisis.
House leaders are optimistic the resolution will not encounter any opposition in the Ortega committee, which is dominated by supporters of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The leaders also insisted that if the Ortega committee would endorse the resolution, it would go through the normal legislative process like any other measure and be placed on the plenary session agenda for debates and later for voting.
The plenary session, the leaders said, will also determine the mode of how to amend the Constitution – whether through a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) or through a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con).
As the name implies, Con-Ass means the House and the Senate will agree to constitute themselves into a Constituent Assembly to amend the Constitution.
On the other hand, Con-Con calls for the nationwide election of delegates who will meet in a convention to introduce constitutional amendments.
Administration lawmakers argued that Con-Ass is the cheapest way to introduce reforms in the Constitution, particularly in the light of the ongoing global economic turmoil.
But an overwhelming majority of the Senate members made it clear they are against Con-Ass and instead favor the holding of Con-Con after the May 2010 elections.
The political opposition and other critics representing civil society, religious and militant groups, warned that Cha-Cha is being used by administration lawmakers as a ploy to extend the stay in Malacanang of President Arroyo whose term expires in 2010.
Initially, the original proponents pushed for Cha-cha in order to change the form of government from the presidential system to federal parliamentary.
The controversy worsened when Speaker Nograles admitted that during Con-Ass or Con-Con, for instance, there is no guarantee that the Arroyo supporters will not introduce a resolution calling for a shift to a parliamentary government.
Such shift, the opposition and other critics warned, will enable the President to run for a “safe” parliamentary seat from her home province of Pampanga in Central Luzon and then run for the position of prime minister, thus extending her stay in power beyond 2010.
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[...] due to the renewed attempt by administration lawmakers to push through the controversial issue of Charter change (Cha-cha) which calls for a shift in the form of government from the presidential system to federal [...]