Simultaneous voting for cha-cha, brgy, SK elections pushed

A plebiscite on the proposed amendment of the 36-year old Philippine Constitution may be held simultaneously with the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in October, if the Senate and the House approve in the coming weeks a resolution calling for a constituent assembly.

Senator Robin Padilla, who chairs the Senate committee on constitutional amendments, said there are two hurdles that must be overcome for the charter reforms to succeed--senators approving the resolution, and for the House to agree to amend the outdated Constitution through a constituent assembly.

“If the Senate and the House approve the resolution, and they also agree to a con-ass, we will now bring the issue directly to the people, hopefully in the October barangay elections, it will now be the people who will decide ‘yes’ or ‘no’,” Padilla said.

“We need to move fast. If the economic amendments are approved in October, they can take effect immediately and Congress can pass new measures to open our economy to investments,” he added.

According to Padilla, he would have preferred a constitutional convention but it would take time and economic reforms are needed as soon as possible.

“If we were not having economic difficulties, I would have preferred a con-con (constitutional convention) But now that we are surviving on borrowings, we must prioritize the economic provisions,” he explained.

The constituent assembly is composed of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives convened as one charter-amending body. Proposed resolutions in the Senate and the House have the two chambers voting separately if the body is convened.

The House committee on constitutional amendments, chaired by Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, approved a Charter change resolution convening a con-con as the proposed mode to amend the Constitution to include its political provisions.

Members or “delegates” to the con-con are elected based on congressional districts.

Padilla, however, said he has recently met with Rodriguez and other House leaders to appeal to them to agree to the constituent assembly mode that will only change the Constitution’s economic provisions, and was willing to plead with them again if needed.

He said the House’s preference for a constitutional convention meant Charter change will take years while requiring at least P11 billion in funding.

“I have humbled myself and gone to the Lower House and paid them my due respects. I have discussed this with them. And if need be, I will do it again,” the senator said.

Padilla said the need to address the economic problems of the country and help it progress through structural reforms is urgent.—Alexis