THE Consultative Committee appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to review and propose amendments to the Constitution aims to submit a draft charter in time for his third State of the Nation Address on July 19.
A member of the committee, former Senate president Aquilino Pimentel Jr., said this was consensus of the 19 members who met for the first time Thursday.
“They want us to submit the proposal by…the Sona so the President can already report the results of the Consultative Committee recommendations for Congress to take up,” Pimentel said.
The Sona target gives the committee six months to produce its recommendations for amending the Constitution.
Pimentel said most of the 19 members of the committee favor a federal form of government, which the President is pushing.
He acknowledged that Congress would have the final say on whether or not it would accept the committee’s recommendations.
“We are a free country and I don’t think we should dictate,” he said. “We should allow the representatives of the people to have their say. If they are convinced, fine, and if they are not, then too bad.”
The committee, headed by former Supreme Court chief justice Reynato Puno, agreed that the members would meet Mondays to Fridays until July at the Philippine International Convention Center, Pimentel said, adding that the meetings should be open to the public so there would be no secrets.
Also on Thursday, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said the ruling PDP-Laban will campaign against candidates for senator and other elective positions in the 2019 elections who are opposed to a federal system of government.
Speaking before over 3,000 new members of the PDP-Laban at the Datu Lipus Makapandong Cultural Center in Agusan del Sur, Alvarez urged the locals to support the advocacy of Duterte and the PDP for a shift to a federal system of government, which he said would open up the development potential of the provinces and the regions.
“I have one request, please don’t vote for candidates, particularly for senator, who are opposing federalism,” Alvarez told the new PDP members composed practically of the entire local officials of the province led by Agusan del Sur Gov. Edward Adolph Plaza, 2nd District Rep. Evelyn Mellana and 1st District Rep. Maria Valentina Plaza.
With the mass oath-taking, the province of Agusan del Sur became the newest addition to the PDP-Laban.
Alvarez, at the sidelines of the event, said the ruling party was pushing for federalism to ensure inclusive development, particularly of the poor and neglected areas of the country.
He said it was time to focus on campaign issues instead of popularity or personality.
He also dared senatorial candidates in the 2019 elections to make a clear stand on federalism.
Accompanying Alvarez in the event were Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles and Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, whom the speaker said would be included in the senatorial slate of the administration party for the 2019 elections.
Earlier, Alvarez said that among the benefits of federalism was that the regions or states would retain the lion’s share of the taxes, instead of having to make do with the meager share the central government was currently sending back to the provinces.
He said it was crucial to achieve a shift to a federal system of government within the term of President Duterte, who was the only presidential candidate in the 2016 elections who pushed for a federal system of government.
At the same time, Alvarez vowed to push for a separate state for indigenous peoples in the Cordilleras and Mindanao under a federal system.
Alvarez made the call during a roundtable discussion on the implications of federalism to the indigenous communities at the House of Representatives. Under such a system, he said, the indigenous peoples would govern themselves according to their customs and laws.