ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews / 20 January) — Changing the Constitution through a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) composed of individuals who are not incumbent members of Congress will ensure the people’s involvement right from the start and the primacy of the nation’s development, not personal interests, in the minds of the delegates, an advocate of federalism said in an interview.
Lawyer Nazir Ynawat, national president of the Alliance of Advocates of Federalism in the Philippines (AAFP), said that while Charter change may be needed, it should be “for the right reason” and should not be used by political leaders, those in Congress and in local government units, in their favor.
Ynawat’s proposal on Con-Con is to elect delegates who are not incumbent members of Congress.
Ynawat, who served as an assemblyman in the former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said there are provisions in the Constitution that need to be amended to suit the demands of the time.
“We are very strong on our advocacy for charter change, but we want the right procedure, and the right reason for the constitutional change, so that the people themselves can get involved, consistent with our stand on federalism, where we will dispel powers from the national to the regions to the local,” he said.
He claimed that “there is a growing interest in federalism throughout the country, as shown in a recent survey that about 40 percent of the people now are becoming aware of federalism,”
The 1987 Constitution provides for three methods to amend or revise it namely, a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass), a Con-Con, or a people’s initiative.
Article XVII, Section 3 of the Constitution says, “The Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of all its Members, call a constitutional convention, or by a majority vote of all its Members, submit to the electorate the question of calling such a convention.”
Under Con-Ass, Congress, by a vote of three-fourths of all its members, may propose amendments or revisions to the Constitution.
Legal expert Prof Tony La Viña, in an article on law.upd.edu.ph published on Jan. 18, 2018 said, “The only way a Constituent Assembly can be convened is if there is a joint resolution by both Houses or, without a Senate resolution the House can convene and tackle constitutional amendments — not as a Constituent Assembly but only as the House of Representatives.”
La Viña was reacting to the plan of then House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to convene the House of Representatives – without the Senate – as a Constituent Assembly for Cha-Cha.
He said Alvarez’s plan “does not pass any kind of legal, policy, constitutional, or even logical test.”
The Senate and the House of Representatives (HOR) have always argued on whether they should vote separately or as a unicameral body under Con-Ass. The Senate has always asserted for a separate voting, saying the sheer number of HOR members will always drown out its voice.
People’s Initiative is provided under Article XVII, Section 2 of the Constitution, which says:
“Amendments to this Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition of at least twelve per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three per centum of the registered votes therein. No amendment under this section shall be authorized within five years following the ratification of this Constitution nor oftener than once every five years thereafter.” (Frencie L. Carreon/MindaNews)
