Palace allies in House: No to term extension

MANILA, Philippines - Administration allies on Monday assured that a resolution gaining support in the House of Representatives will not touch on the term extension of public officials. Members of the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Partner of the Free Filipino) or Kampi, a political party founded by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, said House Resolution (HR) 730 will only tackle the mode of changing the Constitution. Isabela Rep. Rodolfo T. Albano III said discussions on the provisions up for changes will be held in abeyance until the resolution is approved. “Even then, it was explicitly said in the resolution that I signed that when we go on to tackling the mode of changing the Constitution, the term limits will not be touched," he told BusinessWorld in a telephone interview. Palawan Rep. Antonio C. Alvarez (1st district) said the proposal to amend the Charter only covers economic provisions. “As early as the 13th Congress, it has been Kampi’s position to reconstitute Congress into a Constituent Assembly. Talks of extension are not in our agenda," he said in a separate interview. Camarines Sur Rep. Luis R. Villafuerte (2nd district), Kampi president and author of the resolution, earlier said the proposal to amend the Charter through a Constituent Assembly has gained 167 signatures, up from 156 two weeks ago. Minority congressmen have opposed moves to change the Constitution before 2010, claiming that Palace allies might insert a provision to extend Mrs. Arroyo’s term beyond 2010. While Mrs. Arroyo’s allies in the House seek to gather at least 197 signatures of congressmen to represent three-fourths of the combined number (262) of the House (238) and Senate (23), senators have insisted that there should be separate voting of each chamber. Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. said the Senate will insist on separate voting to amend the Constitution. “They can have 1,000 signatures but it won’t make their move legal," Mr. Pimentel said in a text message. Senators Francis Joseph G. Escudero and Francis N. Pangilinan said it will be impossible for any proposal to pass scrutiny in the chamber given senators have almost unanimously opposed proposals to amend the Charter before the 2010 elections. In a bid to ensure that the 2010 polls will push through, Senator Manuel A. Roxas II said in a statement members of the Liberal Party, of which he is president, will file separate measures in the Senate and the House to call for members of a constitutional convention to be elected in the 2010 national elections. Mr. Roxas is said to be eyeing the presidency. Senators Loren B. Legarda and Roxas said the government should drop efforts to amend the Constitution and instead focus on financial reforms in addressing the global economic downturn. The Constitution, which provides that three-fourths vote of all members of the Constituent Assembly to effect a constitutional amendment, does not specify whether the two chambers should vote together or separately. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago had said records of the Constitutional Commission showed that members omitted the term “voting separately," thinking that there would be a unicameral legislature. Meanwhile, Malacañang said it is not alarmed by the possible adverse reaction of the public in case its allies in Congress pursue Charter change before 2010. “We know there are procedures in such exercise. On amending our Constitution, there are three modes: constitutional convention, Constituent Assembly and people’s initiative. In the end, it will be subject to a plebiscite," said Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita in a chance interview. — Jhoanna Frances S. Valdez, Bernard U. Allauigan and Alexis Douglas B. Romero, BusinessWorld