Despite being angrily mocked and lambasted by fuming protesters in recent public demonstrations against their actions, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s allies in the House of Representatives, obviously unaffected by the public disapproval of the Con-ass, believe there is enough time to amend the Constitution and secure a Supreme Court ruling on it before the 2010 elections, a claim that would surely infuriate the President’s rivals a lot more.
Such was proclaimed by Sorsogon Rep. Jose Solis and Nueva Ecija Rep. Rodolfo Antonino, both stalwarts of the newly-merged, administration-backed Lakas-Kampi-CMD party, as they revealed that the House would immediately convene a constituent assembly (Con-ass) even without the Senate after the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) scheduled on July 27.
The move, the two congressmen said, would be enough to create a “justiciable” cause for the high court to decide whether a Con-ass, as a Charter change (Cha-cha) mode, could be formed by House members representing the three-fourths vote needed to convene such an assembly, even as the Senate continue to argue that voting in such an assembly, which is contained in the hastily-adopted House Resolution No. 1109, should be made separately and not jointly.
Both Antonino and Solis were very optimistic about the time line of the Con-ass, with the pair sharing the view that the issue would come to a conclusion in the near future.
“This matter has taken utmost public importance and urgency, I don’t think the Supreme Court will take long in coming up with a decision. I think two months will be enough,” Antonino told reporters in an interview.
“There will be enough time for Cha-cha before the 2010 polls if the Supreme Court upholds HR 1109,” said Solis.
However, the two lawmakers also added that the Con-ass would most likely tackle only “minor amendments,” such as the lifting of investment restrictions on foreigners as proposed by House Speaker Prospero Nograles, not the shift to a federal or parliamentary system that has long been brandished to the public.
For his part, Solis mentioned that he would want to have the issue of term limits included in Cha-cha discussions, but, pointed out that it would not affect current officials, only those to be elected in 2010, and further added that such a scenario would only be the case if discussions go his way, a scenario that is far from being assured.
“I will propose that elective posts should have a term of at least four years and unlimited number of terms,” Solis said, noting that that the current three-year, three-term limit on congressmen and local government officials has been a drag on the economic and political growth of the country.
Meanwhile, Antonino also stressed the fact that HR 1109 specifically stated that there would be no lifting of term limits on incumbent officials, that elections would be held as scheduled in May, and that the unexpired terms of senators would be respected, allaying the fears of most officials who felt threatened by the resolution.
“There really is no reason for the Senate to be worried. We are just pushing what we believe is the correct interpretation of the Con-ass provision in the Constitution. They should just go to the Supreme Court and seek a definitive ruling,” Antonino reiterated.
Latest developments in the Supreme Court also aided the cause of President Arroyo’s allies, after the SC junked the petitions of a lawyer and a businessman for the voiding of House Resolution 1109.
The High Court, in its latest ruling, said that there is no justiciable issue yet since the House only resolved to “convene at a future time for purpose of proposing amendments or revisions to the Constitution” and that “no actual convention has yet transpired and no rules of procedure have yet been adopted.”
“House Resolution No. 1109 involves a quintessential example of an uncertain contingent future event that may not occur as anticipated, or indeed may not occur at all,” the SC resolution said.
“The House has not yet performed a positive act that would warrant an intervention from this Court,” the SC said.
However, legal observers noted that the SC may possibly find justiciable cause if the House pushes through with con-ass and then approves constitutional changes by a three-fourths vote of the chamber. In such a case, a voice vote will not suffice, as in the case of HR1109, instead, congressmen’s signatures are needed.
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