Draft charter passes House 3rd reading

THE HOUSE of Representatives on Tuesday approved on third and final reading its proposed federal constitution, with 224 affirmative votes, 22 negatives and 3 abstentions.

The chamber, standing pat on its push for the revision of the 1987 Constitution, moved forward with its proposed resolution despite repeated statements from senators, including supporters of the current administration, that any charter change proposal is unlikely to get tackled in the current Congress.

The approval came ahead of a scheduled joint session of both chambers of Congress on Wednesday to tackle President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s request for a one-year extension of the martial law in Mindanao.

Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, when asked by the media about concerns that the joint session may be turned into a Constituent Assembly, allayed such fears saying, “We took the mode of voting separately, procedurally I don’t think that can be done.”

Magdalo Rep. Gary C. Alejano, who was among those who voted against the draft charter, said that instead of revising the Constitution, the government should first review the Local Government Code.

“If we truly desire to make other regions viable for development, then we should review the provisions of the Local Government Code,” Mr. Alejano said in his explanation of vote.

He added: “We should amend its provisions to ensure that it fulfills its objective of providing more local autonomy to local government units to institute policies in their locality that would invite investments and elicit development.”

Article 12 of the draft federal charter provides a mechanism that would allow Congress to legislate the creation of a federal state.

Among the contentious provisions of the proposal are the lifting of term limits of elective members of the legislative branch and the ban on political dynasties.

Under the draft, the House of Representatives will be composed of not more than 300 members, of which 80% are district representatives, while the remaining 20% are from party-lists.

The Senate, meanwhile, will be composed of 24 members, just as it is in the present Constitution.

For the executive branch, both the president and the vice-president may serve for four years with one reelection, with both coming from the same political party.

The draft charter also provides that the state shall adopt a two-party system. —