Enrile favors Cha-cha through Con-ass

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile is in favor of Charter change, but only if it is done through a constituent assembly (Con-ass) and not through a constitutional convention (Con-con). "Charter change is imperative, it’s needed now... but let’s do it through a Constituent Assembly," Enrile said in a statement released Thursday. In a constituent assembly, members of both houses of Congress would convene to amend the Charter, while in constitutional convention — which Enrile said is costly to implement — the delegates are elected by the citizenry. "Congress can do it. Why do we have to hold an election and pay the salaries of people who may not necessarily understand the problems of the nation because they have not experienced these problems," Enrile said. Amending the 1987 Constitution once more hit the headlines after Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone and former Chief Justice Reynato Puno, on separate occasions, said such move is timely following President Benigno Aquino III's vow not to seek any elective post in 2016. But deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that while Aquino remains open to Charter change, he does not consider it as a priority at least for this year. Unicameral parliamentary system In expressing his preference for a a constitutional assembly, Enrile said elected officials have "an intimate grasp of problems facing the nation" to amend the law. He said he would even favor a shift to the unicameral parliamentary system if it would help the country’s problems. "We need to amend the Charter because it is a source of our problems as a nation and it retards our progress. As long as we have the present Constitution we will remain where we are," he said. "I have no problem with a unicameral set-up. If the result of the voting is to abolish the Senate, so be it," he added. Rich-friendly provisions? He said that among the provisions in the present Constitution that should be changed are those which supposedly favor only the rich. "We should have an investment policy that will protect not only the rich, but also the poor. We can control the foreigners but not the rich Filipinos who control our politics, the judiciary, the executive branch, and even the police and the military. While the present setup works to their advantage, the nation suffers," he said. — KBK.RSJ, GMANews.TV