Congress to plunge into Cha-cha debates in first week of session

The two chambers of Congress will immediately plunge into extensive Charter change deliberations once session resumes this week, possibly paving the way for the government's shift to federalism.

Southern Leyte Representative Roger Mercado, chair of the House committee on constitutional amendments, said the panel will continue interpellations on the House resolution seeking to convene both chambers of Congress into a constituent assembly that would amend the 1987 Constitution.

His committee will also meet on Tuesday to finalize proposed amendments that would guide them in their discussions, Mercado said.

“We will have a freewheeling discussion tomorrow and get the consensus of the members. We don’t want to telegraph or preempt the output of the committee,” Mercado said when asked about the House’s proposed amendments.

Included in their discussion is whether they will extend the term of congressmen and other elected officials who currently have three-year terms, he said.

“We cannot work so much with that timeframe of three years. Kaya it is being discussed, kung i-retain ba 'yong three years or add some years or time,” he said.

PDP-Laban proposal

PDP-Laban, the political party of President Rodrigo Duterte and the leader of Congress, has submitted to the House its proposed amendments to the Constitution.

It aims to shift the form of government from presidential to semi-presidential, wherein “executive power is dispersed among the President, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, the Parliament and the Regional Governments,” according to the party’s executive summary.

Under their proposal, the current bicameral Congress will be retained but it will be renamed and restructured. The legislature will be called the Parliament, which will be comprised of the Senate and the Federal Assembly.

Members of Parliament will have a five-year term and can serve for up to two consecutive terms, according to the PDP-Laban proposal.

This is longer than the current term of congressmen, who can only have three consecutive three-year terms. But it will shorten the possible stay in office of elected senators, who can currently have two consecutive six-year terms.

“We agree that congressmen should have longer terms kasi nga napakaikli," said Interior and Local Government Assistant Secretary Jonathan Malaya, who also serves as the executive director of PDP-Laban’s Federalism Institute.

“Isa mga hindi magandang features ng ating demokrasya is napakadalas ng ating eleksyon. Eleksyon tayo nang eleksyon, and magastos din. It also affects public service kung laging may eleksyon,’’ he added.

PDP-Laban also proposes a five-year term for the president, who, under the proposed system, can run for reelection once.

“Kelangan iyong pangulo eh nakakapagpakita ng accountability,” said Malaya. “Nakikita namin sa sistema ng ibang bansa merong re-election para iyong pangulo ginaganahan magtrabaho kasi nga kung hindi single term lang siya.”

Is there a need to amend?

Senator Kiko Pangilinan, chairman of the Liberal Party, said that proposals to amend the 1987 Constitution would be carefully scrutinized.

Pangilinan is the chairman of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments, which will hold a hearing on Wednesday.

“Ano ba talaga ang pakay ng federalism at paano ito makakatulong sa pagbago ng Saligang Batas at pag-amyenda? Ito ba ay madadagdagan ang trabaho? Ito ba ay matutugunan ba ang kahirapan? Ito ba ay may kinalaman para magkaroon ng mas magandang ekonomiya?” Pangilinan said in an interview with Super Radyo dzBB.

But before that, Pangilinan said they will seek to find out whether the 1987 Constitution needs to amended in the first place.

They will also try to determine whether the two chambers of Congress should vote jointly or separately if they decide to amend the Charter by convening into a constituent assembly, he said.

The Senate committee invited Palace officials and several constitutional experts for the hearing on Wednesday, including former Supreme Court Chief Justices Reynato Puno, Hilario Davide Jr., and Artemio Panganiban. —ALG, GMA News