Enrile proposes reverting to 1935 Constitution, electing 48 senators

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile on Wednesday proposed reverting to the 1935 Constitution and electing 48 senators due to the expanded population.

During the continuation of the Senate constitutional amendments and revision of codes committee hearing on measures seeking to revise the 1987 Constitution, Enrile said the current charter made the provisions from the 1935 and 1973 Constitutions complicated.

The former Senate President said the 1935 Constitution was "brief, simple, and easy to understand."

"Ngayon, pag tanungin ninyo ako ano ba ang gagawin natin, marami po. Una ang aking mungkahi (Now, if you will ask me what we should do, I believe there are many things. First, my proposal is we) go back, that is my preference, I'm not binding anybody, go back to the 1935 Constitution or at the very least if we want to change it immediately, go to the 1973 Constitution," he said.

Secondly, Enrile suggested doubling the number of senators to 48 due to the country's growing population.

"If we are going to change the number of senators at the present time, to be in tune with the number of the expanded population of the country (because) at the time of the adoption of the 1935 Constitution we are only 12 million people. Now, we are more than 100 million people and if we are going to increase the number of senators, I would suggest that we double the present number 24 to 48," he said.

"With that 48, 16 will go out every two years to be elected by the people so that new, fresh, and modernized mind will enter the system to contribute to the intellectual capability or academic capability of the remaining members," he added.

He said the 1935 Constitution established the number of 24 but the 1987 Constitution provided that half of the Senate will be elected every six years.

"Delikado 'yan. They did not understand why under the 1935 Constitution the wise men of the Philippines...ginawa nilang 24 but every two years exposed to the mandate of the people, eight of these 24 people and the 16 will remain standing all the time, was embedded in the Constitution," he said.

"The purpose of changing eight every two years was to be sure that two-thirds of all the senators must be in place at any given time without any interregnum. So that in case of danger, war, invasion, or rebellion like what happened to us or any kind of emergency, epidemic, pandemic, there must always be 16 senators that can be relied upon to maintain the government of the Republic of the Philippines not for their sake but for the sake of the Filipino people, for their safety and security," he added.

Further, Enrile said he agrees to reinstate the phrase "imminent danger" in the martial law provision of the Constitution as this would enable the government to respond to any looming war, rebellion, or insurrection.

"Ginulo nila ang martial law provision. Nu'ng dineclare namin ang martial law, simple lang. The Supreme Court cannot interfere. Nobody can interfere, the power of the president was absolute," he said.—AOL, GMA News