SEN. Franklin Drilon believes that it will be difficult to push Charter change or “Cha-cha” without the political support of President Benigno Aquino 3rd, which is why there is a need for the House of Representatives to convince the President that it is necessary to amend the Constitution.
At the House, Rep. Teddy Casiño of Bayan Muna Party-list said that if President Aquino was really against Cha-cha, he should stop allies from pushing it.
“Without the political support of the President, [Charter change] will not happen,” Drilon said during a weekly news forum at the Senate.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile earlier insisted that only Congress had the authority to impose changes in the Constitution and that President Aquino could not do anything about that even if he wanted to.
Enrile issued the statement after Mr. Aquino said that Charter change was unnecessary.
“I respect the opinion of the President but that is a mere opinion on his part, that’s his position. But it’s up to Congress, not the President, to amend the Constitution,” he added.
But Drilon believes that Cha-cha needs the political support of the President and to do that, they have to convince Mr. Aquino through public debates that will be conducted after both chambers of Congress agree on the process that will be taken to change the Constitution.
Under the proposal presented by Drilon to the Liberal Party (LP), anybody from the House and the Senate can propose a constitutional amendment via a House or Senate resolution. Once the amendment is approved on third and final reading by the chamber where it emanted, the House and the Senate will vote on it separately in a Bicameral Constitutional Assembly.
The senator has maintained that this is the best time to propose amendments to the Constitution since the trust rating of the President is very high and he can exercise his political leadership.
“We have a President who we all know is not interested in amending the Constitution for his personal benefit. I am certain that the President will reject any amendment that would change the form of government or would indicate any extension of his term. Therefore, this is the best time to take a look at the economic provisions. When else do we do this?” Drilon said.
He added that any attempt to introduce amendments outside the economic provisions would not be entertained based on the commitments given by other lawmakers.
“The fact that it is bicameral, it provides check and balance and we are committed that it will only refer to economic provisions. All kinds of amendments will be proposed but the leadership will vote down any amendment outside of the economic provisions,” Drilon said.
