House to push for charter change in 2024: Speaker

MANILA — The House of Representatives will push for amendments to the 1987 Constitution in 2024, Speaker Martin Romualdez said.

The chamber is exploring options that do not involve the Senate, where previous charter change proposals languished, Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Dong Gonzales said.

The announcements were made during the Speaker's Christmas get-together with House media.

Romualdez noted that the House passed twin resolutions earlier this year which called for a constitutional convention to amend the constitution. The House has completed all its other priority legislation, he added.

"I believe 2024 will allow us again to revisit the whole issue of the constitution because I think it’s timely that we revisit and I say we’d like to focus very much on the economic provisions," Romualdez said.

"We would be studying this over the [Christmas] break. And perhaps there might be some initiatives even during the break that would prepare us for the ensuing year and perhaps what would be our legacy in the 19th Congress, which is to review and revisit the 1987 Constitution and make it more attuned, sensitive and responsive to the times," he said.

During a separate briefing in Iloilo, Romualdez bared plans to resolve the current impasse that kept charter change proposals approved by the House dying a natural death at the Senate: a people's initiative that would let voters decide if congressmen and senators have to vote together or separately to consider proposals to amend the constitution.

Former and current senators have insisted that the 2 chambers vote separately to prevent the 24-man Senate from being overwhelmed by votes from the much larger House, which currently has over 300 members.

The Senate also sat on proposals for a constitutional convention of elected delegates, which has to be called through a law passed by both chambers.

In March, the House approved Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 that sought a constitutional convention. It has since languished in the Senate along with the resolution's implementing bill, House Bill 7352.

"We are thinking right now of addressing the procedural gap or question as to how we amend the Constitution. We will highly recommend that we embark on a people's initiative...to cure this impasse, so to speak, on how we vote," Romualdez said.

Effectively, this will let the electorate decide if only one chamber of Congress can be enough to propose and submit charter amendments to the public for ratification.

TARGET TIMELINE

Gonzales said the House was looking for a path forward on charter change, which they hoped would be done before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s next State of the Nation Address.

"So we’ll try to pursue it by next year, I think early, on the resumption of our third regular session, we will tackle the amendments of the 1987 Constitution," Gonzales said.

"I think kung in coordination with other congressperson and the Upper House, I think we can get the target, I think before SONA if ever," he added.

Gonzales says all options were on the table, including the people's initiative, a constitutional convention of elected delegates, or the senators and congressmen themselves as a constituent assembly.

But he noted that the Senate did not act on the House's previous proposal.

"Economic provisions, ‘di ba nando’n na, hindi naman gumalaw? Kaya meron tayong initial na... people’s initiative. And we will start, I think, early next year," he said. "Madali lang naman ang tanong sa taumbayan: kung kayo ba eh kumporme doon sa ating babaguhin sa Saligang Batas."

"Ito na lang ang sasabihin ko: Bagong Konstitusyon ng Bagong Pilipinas. So papaano ka magtatrabaho kung Bagong Pilipinas kung luma ‘yong ating konstitusyon. Kaya that’s our objective: our objective is Bagong Konstitusyon ng Bagong Pilipinas," he added.

Gonzales maintained this was a House initiative when asked if it had the President's approval.

"This is a legislative work, and that’s a different body, that’s executive, and I think the legislative will be the one to initiate this," he said.

Gonzales is an author of a resolution to convene a constituent assembly to amend 3 articles of the current charter, including the following.

- Extending congressmen's and other local officials' terms from the current 3 consecutive terms with 3 years each term to 2 consecutive terms but five years each term or a maximum of ten years in office

- Adjusting the current single 6-year term for the president and two 6-year term limit for the vice president to both officials getting a 5-year term subject to re-election once for a maximum of ten years in office

Gonzales' proposal would bar congressmen and local officials on their final term from running for the same office in the first election after the new constitution takes effect. It also bars the incumbent and past president from running for any elective position in the government.

ECONOMIC PROVISIONS

Romualdez said they would like to pursue the constituent assembly mode. Constitutional changes would be limited to empowering lawmakers to regulate foreign investments, he said.

"We want to lift the restrictive provisions in our Constitution vis-à-vis the economy," the Speaker said.

"We would like to lift these restrictions and allow the legislature just to regulate the economy just like other nations do... We will be working hand-in-hand with economic managers to see what are the priorities and what we should do."

The Speaker said this was not being done at the behest of the President, who is his cousin.

"As your Speaker and leader of the House of Representatives, we would like to share with you that these are all being undertaken in pursuit of the economic managers' thrust to transform the economy and not the behest of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. So we will answer the call," Romualdez said.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

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