Duterte set to receive draft federal constitution today
President Duterte will receive today the proposed federal constitution crafted by the 22-member consultative committee (ConCom) tasked to review the 1987 Constitution.
The ConCom is set to hand the draft federal constitution to Duterte in a ceremony in Malacañang this afternoon.
According to Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque, the submission of the proposed constitution is a significant step to realizing Duterte’s promise to shift to a federal government.
“We're hoping that Congress will give it much weight as it prepares to submit proposed revisions to the people as a constituent assembly,” Roque said in a text message Sunday.
The draft is a product of more than four months of deliberations among members of the committee chaired by former Chief Justice Reynato Puno.
Last Tuesday, the ConCom approved the proposed draft of the revised organic law without any objection.
The federal constitution is aimed to address the lingering problems under the unitary system of government, which includes the supposed overconcentration of powers in the national government, and the territorial dispute in Mindanao.
“It is time for our regions to be liberated, time to be freed from the shackles of the national government and this can only be done if we adopt federalism,” Puno had said.
Plebiscite next year
Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III is eyeing the possibility of holding the plebiscite for the draft federal charter simultaneously with the May 2019 mid-term elections.
Pimentel, president of the Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban (PDP-Laban) and ally of President Duterte, said it is only practical for the government to hold the plebiscite during the scheduled electoral exercise next year.
“Just to be practical, ang iniisip kong timeline, isabay na natin yung plebisito to approve the Federal Constitution sa naka-schedule nang electoral exercise sa Mayo 2019, (I am thinking of a timeline where we can hold the plebiscite to approve the proposed Federal Constitution together with the scheduled electoral exercise on May 2019),” Pimentel said in a Radio DZBB interview.