Talks about Cha-cha amid COVID-19 a ‘sin,’ says Drilon

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Thursday said plans to resume deliberation of Charter change in the last leg of President Rodrigo Duterte's term is “an exercise in futility” and a sin amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It will be a total waste of time. It won’t fly. Our history tells us that Cha-cha has a zero chance of success in any administration that is already in the home stretch,” Drilon said in a statement.

“It is a sin to be even talking about changing the Constitution when there is still no end in sight to the pandemic, when the government is struggling to secure funding for COVID-19 vaccines, and when the country is still reeling from the continuing impact of the pandemic and the recent typhoons,” he added.

The minority bloc in the Senate would oppose this move, Drilon said.

Instead of pushing for Cha-cha, lawmakers should focus on bringing down inflation and creating livelihood opportunities, according to the senator.

Drilon made this position after two administration senators—Senator Bato Dela Rosa and Francis Tolentino—filed a resolution asking the both houses of Congress to convene as a constituent assembly for the purpose of amending the 1987 Constitution.

The amendments will be limited to the provisions on democratic representation and the economic provisions of the Constitution, the resolution read.

“It will reach a dead end in the Senate. It will be an exercise in futility,” Drilon said.

If the goal of amending the Constitution is to address economic and health concerns, Congress should just revisit and update some economic laws like the 83-year-old Public Service Law and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2000, he added.

A mousetrap, quicksand

Senator Panfilo Lacson said the members of the Senate should discuss the matter very carefully even before opening plenary debates on convening as a constituent assembly.

“Without the certainty that both chambers of Congress will be voting separately, and  there is none due to the vagueness of that particular provision in the 1987 Constitution - and only the Supreme Court can make such interpretation - it's like taking one big step into a mousetrap, or even quicksand for that matter,” he said in a statement.

Opposition Senator Kiko Pangilinan took the same stance and opined that a caucus should be held by senators.

“As was our approach in the previous Congress, it would be best if the matter be tackled and discussed first in an all Senators Caucus wherein a consensus as to how to move forward hopefully can be reached,” he said.

The timing of the proposed charter amendments is one important topic to consider, according to Pangilinan.

“Ngayon ba ang tamang panahon para pag-usapan ito ? In addition is the matter of Congress voting jointly or separately in proposing charter amendments,” he said.

The House of Representatives is planning to resume its deliberations on Charter change next week, according to Ako Bicol party-list Representative Alfredo Garbin Jr.

He stressed that it will not be about amendments on political provisions like term extension for lawmakers but solely on the “restrictive” economic provisions in the Constitution. — RSJ GMA News