Aglipay assures transparency in House Cha-cha deliberations

DIWA party-list Representative Michael Edgar Aglipay on Thursday assured the public that the House of Representatives will be transparent in its deliberations on Charter change expected to take place as early as next week.

In a virtual interview with reporters, Aglipay maintained that only the proposed amendments in the "restrictive" economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution will be discussed, as how Speaker Lord Allan Velasco wanted it.

"The Speaker has been my friend since college, and my wife, childhood friend niya. Hindi ganun si Speaker e. Kapag sinabi niya talaga, yun na yun. Yun ang guarantee," he said.

At the same time, their deliberations will also be livestreamed so the public can witness what they are discussing, he added.

Aglipay was present during the meeting of Velasco and other House leaders on Wednesday to talk about proposed amendments to the Constitution.

House Committee on Constitutional Amendments chair Alfredo Garbin Jr. said it was Velasco himself who ordered to look into proposals to amend "restrictive" economic provisions.

These proposals, he said, are included in Resolution of Both Houses No. 2 which the Speaker filed as early as July 2019, even before he took over the helm of chamber.

Asked if President Rodrigo Duterte had issued marching orders to the Speaker to revive Cha-cha talks in the House, Aglipay said Velasco was "acting on his own."

The shift to a federal form of government, which requires amendments, if not a revamp, of the 1987 Constitution, was one of the campaign promises of Duterte when he was running for President.

"The Speaker, although na-identify siya na close kay President Duterte, actually he's acting on his own," Aglipay said.

"Wala naman minention si Speaker yesterday sa meeting na may utos si President to do this, to do that. It was his own action, on his own initiative," he added.

For now, Aglipay said the House is aiming to finish its deliberations on the proposed constitutional amendments before February 2022, so that the plebiscite to ratify these amendments could be held simultaneously with the May 2022 elections.

"Kasi mahal magpa-plebiscite, the last step of constitutional amendment. So para umabot, yun ang isasabay na sa presidential election ng 2022 yung pag-ratify ng mga amendments," he said.

"Ang deadline naman namin matapos ito ay February para masama yung plebiscite para sa provisions sa presidential elections ng 2022," he added.

A 'sin'

At the Senate, Minority Leader Franklin Drilon described talks of Charter change as a sin at this time of the 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.

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. — RSJ, GMA News