THE president of the National Unity Party (NUP) has revived his proposal to change the 35-year-old Constitution by convening a constitutional convention (ConCon) to propose both economic and political amendments.
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte filed House Bill (HB) No. 4926 or the “Constitutional Convention Act” which calls on Congress to assemble a con-con by December 2023 at the earliest “by two-thirds (2/3) of the vote of all the members of Congress.”
The measure proposes that the members will be elected in the next nationwide balloting, which can be held when the country holds its Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections on December 5 or during the midterm elections for legislators and local executives on May 12, 2025.
The leaderships of both the House of Representatives and the Senate have agreed to pass before the October 1 to November 6 congressional recess the bill postponing the barangay and SK polls to December 4, 2023.
Villafuerte said the proposals to just convert Congress into a constituent assembly (ConAss) to introduce the constitutional amendments “is not likely to get from Point A to Point B, given that this available process for Charter Change is likely to be sidetracked by the expectedly protracted national debate on whether the 1987 Constitution actually requires senators and House members to vote separately or jointly on proposed constitutional amendments and/or revisions.”
“Moreover, a ConAss will further polarize our people, given one legitimate concern that devoting part of our official time as legislators to the Con-Ass would only distract us from, and enable us to devote less of our efforts and resources on, the task of law-making, which is what our voters had elected us to do in the House of Representatives and the Senate,” he said.
He said the People’s Initiative option, he said “is only ideal for introducing minor revisions to the Constitution, and not for major amendments or an overhaul that will possibly entail major changes in numerous constitutional provisions.”
One minor revision in the Constitution, for an instance, may entail changes in various articles and sections in the entire Constitution that will all need to be presented to, and approved by the electorate, in a plebiscite, he said.
While the calls for Charter Change have always been relevant, Villafuerte said in the bill that “genuine constitutional reforms have taken a backseat because of perceived controversies and allegations of corruption in previous administrations.”
“Thus, while it is a given that the present Charter needs to go through the process of revision, this should be done with much deliberation and in a transparent and trustworthy atmosphere,” he said.
He said that in the realm of economic reforms, for instance, “the Philippines has won international investment-grade ratings and acclaimed as a rising economic star in recent years, but such accolades have not attracted the impressive level of foreign direct investments (FDIs) going to, say, Vietnam or Thailand, because of the restrictive constitutional provisions that limit foreigners to a maximum 40% participation in certain local businesses that are attractive to foreign investors.”
The bill requires the would-be delegates to ensure that whatever amendments or revisions they are to draft and eventually submit to the people for ratification are anchored on the principles of democracy – separation of power, autonomy and self-determination of the regions, social justice, human rights, good governance, and public accountability, among others.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is directed under HB 4926 to draw up the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the holding of the election for ConCon delegates within 30 days from the effectivity of this Act.
Any person elected as a ConCon delegate “shall not be eligible to run for any public office or position in the first national and first local elections to be held after the ratification of the new Constitution,” the bill states.
“Further, no elected delegate of the ConCon shall be appointed to any public office or position while the ConCon is in session and within a period of one (1) year after the plebiscite for the revised or amended Constitution,” it said.
The would-be elected delegates are tasked under Villafuerte’s bill to study and draft the proposed amendments and/or revisions to the Constitution within two years after the effectivity of its rules.
“No extension of the term of the ConCon shall be allowed,” the bill said. “The death or incapacity of an elected delegate shall not be a ground for the holding of a special election or for the delay of the proceedings of the Convention.”
The ConCon is mandated under the bill to submit its recommended constitutional reforms following a process of public hearings and deliberations on whatever changes are to be agreed upon by the delegates “for the people’s ratification in a plebiscite to be held not earlier than 60 days or later than 90 days after approval of the amendments and/or revisions, and the same shall be valid only when ratified by a majority of the votes cast.”
Prospective candidates to the ConCon are required under the bill to be natural born citizens of the Philippines who are at least 25 years of age on the day of the election, are qualified voters, and of recognized probity, nationalism, and patriotism.
The however bill seeks to disqualify the following persons from being candidates as delegates: all incumbent elected officials of the government, including but not limited to the President, Vice President, members of the bicameral Congress, and local government officials; and persons who have been declared by any competent authority as insane or incompetent, or have been sentenced by final judgment for subversion, insurrection, rebellion or for any offense for which they have been sentenced to a penalty of more than 18 months or for a crime involving moral turpitude – unless they have been given plenary pardon or granted amnesty.
