SPEAKER Pantaleon Alvarez said Monday he would propose to President Rodrigo Duterte the creation of a 20-member Constitutional Commission to help Congress, acting as Constituent Assembly, draft proposed amendments to the Constitution.
Alvarez told a radio interview that the creation of the commission would help address the concern among some quarters about changing the Constitution through a constituent assembly rather than an elected Constitutional Convention.
Alvarez said the commission would include constitutional law experts like former Supreme Court chief justice Reynato Puno, former senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., lawyer Reuben Canoy, and Dean of San Beda Law School Ranhilio Aquino, as well as representatives from non-governmental organizations, the academe, and other sectors of society.
“They will be tasked to study and review the present Constitution and then draft a new Charter, which will be submitted to the Constituent Assembly where it will be discussed thoroughly,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez, a lawyer, said he sees no legal impediment against the creation of such a commission through an executive order of the President.
He said it is still Congress, acting as Constituent Assembly, that would discuss and approve the proposed Charter changes.
Under the present Constitution, Alvarez said, there are only three modes of amending the Charter: a Constitutional Convention, a Constituent Assembly, and a people’s initiative.
“And after Congress approves the proposed amendments, it’s not final yet. The public must still agree to the proposed changes [through a plebiscite]. That’s why it’s safe because in the end it’s the people who would decide whether they agree or not with the proposed new Constitution,” Alvarez said.
But Alvarez said he has yet to inform President Duterte of his proposal to create a Constitutional Commission.
Alvarez said he and his fellow lawmakers must rise to Duterte’s challenge that as Filipinos they must work to uphold the interest of the people.
Duterte earlier said he would monitor the crafting of a new Charter to ensure it would be pro-Filipino.
The move to amend the Charter is meant to pave the way to change the present system of government to a federal one.
Initially, the President favored amending the charter though a Constitutional Convention but later changed his mind in favor of Constituent Assembly to save money that could be used to fulfill his campaign promises, such as better pay for police and soldiers, increased benefits for the elderly and retirees, as well as pushing the fight against drugs and criminality.
Alvarez himself had filed a resolution seeking to amend the Constitution through a Constitutional Convention.
Alvarez said the voice of the people must be respected in connection with Duterte’s call for the abolition of the party-list system, which he said has been abused by moneyed people.
“I think we should listen to the voice of the people because in the end it’s the people who would decide whether or not they would agree to the proposal of President Duterte,” Alvarez said.