Present ‘realistic, workable’ timeline on Cha-cha for federalism, Gatchalian tells Congress leaders

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday called on leaders of Congress to present a “realistic and workable” timetable for Charter change (Cha-cha) that will pave the way for a federal form of government.

In a statement, Gatchalian said the work of Congress on Cha-cha will depend on the timetable to be produced by Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

“Based from their pronouncements last week, Senate President Pimentel and Speaker Alvarez will start to lay the groundwork for discussions of this once the session is resumed on January 15,” Gatchalian pointed out. 

“But they first need to produce the timetable, a realistic and workable one, to get us going. Essentially, I want to meticulously look into its details since the idea of federalism being floated over the news is still broad. We need to be clear with the details and not rush the process,” the senator said.

Earlier, Speaker Alvarez said a draft federal charter could be ready for a plebiscite simultaneous with the scheduled barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in May.

Pimentel, for his part, said Alvarez’s timeline may be “too ambitious,” saying that a plebiscite could be held together with the 2019 midterm elections.

Pimentel is the president of ruling party PDP-Laban, while Alvarez is the secretary general.

Both leaders however agree that Cha-cha should be initiated with Congress convening in a constituent assembly (ConAss), a cheaper approach compared to a constitutional convention (ConCon). —KG, GMA News