Kampi solons will not follow Villafuerte move vs Cha-cha

MANILA, Philippines – Three members of Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) vowed Monday to continue their support for a House resolution pushing for a constituent assembly to amend the Charter despite the party president’s planned withdrawal. "Our position is as before," Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. said in a telephone interview when asked whether there has been a change in Kampi's position after its president Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte's planned withdrawal of his signature from the measure. Villafuerte said he is withdrawing his support for House Resolution 1109 because Charter change (Cha-cha) is a "terminal case." "Personally I would not be withdrawing my signature," Barzaga said. In a separate telephone interview, Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez likewise said he would not withdraw his signature. "I still believe that's (constituent assembly) the cheapest way to amend the Constitution," he said. Nueva Ecija Rep. Rodolfo Antonino likewise told GMANews.TV in a text message that he is not pulling out his support from the controversial measure, which had 174 signatures when it was filed last April 22. On Friday, Villafuerte said he is pulling out his support for HR 1109 - which he drafted - because there is no more time for it and he is "disgusted" with the way Speaker Prospero Nograles is handling the issue in the House of Representatives. With HR 1109, Villafuerte had sought to set the mode for Cha-cha before any specific amendments are proposed. Nograles is its first signatory, with Villafuerte the 27th. It is set to be voted upon by the committee on Constitutional Amendments on Tuesday, but Villafuerte lamented that another measure - Nograles' HR 737, which seeks to amend the Charter's economic provisions - is currently in plenary going through the ordinary legislative route, which the Camarines Sur lawmaker said was unconstitutional because the 1987 Constitution only allows three modes for amending the Charter, these are: constituent assembly, constitutional convention, and people's initiative. Villafuerte is expected to deliver a privilege speech in plenary later in the day regarding the matter. Nograles earlier stood by both HR 737 and 1109, saying the House can tackle both measures at the same time. Nograles, president of Lakas Christian Muslim Democrats whose merger with Kampi is in the final stage, also maintained that he and Villafuerte remain "friends" despite their disagreement over Charter change. "I guess we really have different styles of leadership. So what else can I say? Yes we disagree but we are friends," Nograles said. - GMANews.TV