House committee approves con-ass resolution for plenary

MANILA, Philippines - Voting 19-6, the House committee on constitutional amendments on Tuesday recommended for plenary debate the controversial resolution seeking to convene Congress into a constituent assembly that would amend the 1987 Constitution. Committee chair and La Union Rep. Victor Ortega said the voting effectively sends House Resolution 1109 to the Rules committee, which would then calender the measure for floor deliberations. At least four of those who moved to have the bill sent to the Rules committee, however, said they only want the bill in plenary so that it could be killed as soon as possible. These were Cebu City Rep. Antonio Cuenco, Paranaque City Rep. Eduardo Zialcita, Batangas Rep. Hermilando Mandanas, and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman. Friendly forum or a lion's den "I am not concerned whether the plenary will be a friendly forum or a lion's den on House Resolution No. 1109," said Lagman, who also made a reservation to speak against the measure in plenary. Zialcita said he wants the measure discussed on the floor so that its purported supporters would come out in the open. Isabela Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao, who moved for the approval of HR 1109, said he is personally against the measure although he is "prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt" out of "respect" for its 170 or so signatories. Members of the minority led by by senior deputy minority leader Roilo Golez said lawmakers' approval of HR 1109 is in contrast with the opinion of the two revered constitutional experts they heard earlier in the hearing. Separate voting Fr. Joaquin Bernas, one of the members of the constitutional commission that wrote that 1987 Constitution, and retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Vicente Mendoza earlier struck down the idea of Charter change without the Senate, saying the two chambers of Congress should vote separately when amending the 1987 Constitution. "The idea is not to have one House check the action of the other, which is the purpose for adopting a bicameral system, but rather to make the members of the two Houses of Congress come together to break bread and take counsel from each other," Mendoza said. Even though Bernas said the two chambers of Congress could meet jointly or separately when tackling constitutional amendments, he echoed Mendoza's take that voting should be done separately. “Whether they are acting separately or together, in my view and I agree with Justice Mendoza, the voting should be separate," said Bernas, adding that three-fourths of each chamber should vote favorably on amendments for them to be approved. Villafuerte resolution The two experts' interpretation of separate voting contrasts with the belief espoused by Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte, who drafted HR 1109. Villafuerte previously said the House can push through with a constituent assembly even without the Senate's institutional participation. According to him and other proponents of the measure, HR 1109's approval in the House is meant to provoke the Senate into taking the issue to the Supreme Court, which is then supposed to rule once and for all whether the two chambers of Congress should vote jointly or separately when amending the Constitution. Even though Villafuerte recently withdrew his support for the measure due to differences with Speaker Prospero Nograles' handling of Charter change efforts in the House, HR 1109 still enjoys the backing of around 170 lawmakers. "It's very ironic they did not want to adopt it but when I withdrew from it they realized that my resolution is better than the Nograles resolution," Villafuerte said in a telephone interview with GMANews.TV. Once HR 1109 is brought to the plenary, it would be tackled along with HR 737, Nograles' proposal seeking to amend the Charter's economic provisions. HR 737 is currently going through the ordinary legislative route - a so-called "fourth mode" that some lawmakers, including Villafuerte, have slammed as unconstitutional because the 1987 Constitution only provides for three modes: constituent assembly, constitutional convention, and people's initiative. Nograles has earlier said he wants both measures decided upon before Congress adjourns session on June 3. If efforts to amend the Constitution through the "fourth mode" or a constituent assembly still do not gain ground by then, the House is likely to take up "plan B," or changing the Charter through a constitutional convention. - GMANews.TV