Cha-cha plebiscite alongside ‘25 polls?

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Zubiri: Marcos wants simultaneous electoral exercises

BY RAYMOND AFRICA and GERARD NAVAL

SENATE President Juan Miguel Zubiri yesterday said President Marcos Jr. wants the plebiscite to ratify the proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution held simultaneously with the 2025 midterm elections.

“Binanggit niya po kanina ‘yan. Mas gusto niya na magkaroon ng plebiscite in the 2025 elections. Dahil, napaka-klaro, kung gagawin natin ‘yan bago mag-eleksyon, gagastos po tayo ng P12 to P14 billion (He [Marcos] said he prefers to have a plebiscite together with the 2025 elections. Because it is very clear, if we do that before the election, we will spend P12 to P14 billion),” Zubiri told reporters in an ambush interview.

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Zubiri and Speaker Martin Romualdez joined the President in Malacañang yesterday for the signing of the Tatak Pinoy Act and the expanded Centenarian Act.

Zubiri said the President also talked with Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara and asked him “to look for legal possibilities” to convince the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to add a “rider question” on the amendments to the Constitution in the ballots for the 2025 midterm polls.

Angara is the chairperson of the Senate sub-committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes which is conducting discussions on the proposed Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 6 seeking to amend specific economic provisions in the Constitution about public services, education, and advertising.

Zubiri said that if the Comelec agrees, the rider question on Cha-cha will be placed at the back of the ballot.

Elections chairman George Garcia said the poll body can hold the May 2025 national and local polls simultaneously with the Cha-cha plebiscite.

In a message to reporters, Garcia said the poll body can hold the two electoral exercises using the Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC) that was recently awarded to the joint venture of Miru Systems.

“We can simultaneously hold the plebiscite with the May 2025 elections,” said Garcia, adding: “We already designed a sample ballot with a plebiscite question. The machines can accommodate ballots with questions requiring ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers.”

Garcia was seconded by Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco, who said such changes may be put in place once the voting machines and the automated election system (AES) undergo customization.

“This is the importance of the customization of the AES. Through customization, the Comelec may include the plebiscite question,” said Laudiangco.

The poll chief said all that the Comelec will need is for Congress to mandate the simultaneous conduct of the plebiscite and the 2025 polls.

“Such must be included in the Resolution of Both Houses,” he said.

Garcia, however, admitted that the inclusion of the plebiscite for Charter Change would complicate their preparations for the next elections.

“We will comply per our mandate in accordance with the Constitution. This, despite the already too tight timelines of the Commission,” he said.

NO RUSH

With no less than the President setting the timeline for the approval of Charter revisions, Zubiri said there’s no need for the Senate to rush its deliberations on RBH 6.

The sub-committee has so far held hearings on the provisions tackling public utilities and education of the Constitution.

“We can take this up after the break… complete the resolution and approve the resolution before the sine die break, ‘yun ang aming target date. Baka sabihin nila, nangako na naman ako. Target date po natin, kasi ang gusto po ng ating Pangulo eventually is to force it to the elections of 2025 (We can take this up after the break… complete the (discussions on the) resolution and approve the resolution before the sine die break, which is our target date. They might say, I made a promise again. We have a target date because what the President wants is to force it to the elections of 2025),” Zubiri said.

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He said once the sub-committee hearings are done, the Senate Committee of the Whole can be activated to discuss the matter as a body.

“Pag mag decide na po kami diyan in the morning sessions na ‘yan, ‘yun na ‘yun (If we decide during the morning session, that’s it). It will be sort of a Senate Constituent Assembly,” he said.

The Senate leader said the upper chamber will vote on the amendments “separately” from the House, a move which he acknowledged can be questioned by some sectors before the Supreme Court.

“We’ll vote here (in the Senate), nowhere else, and vote separately. Submit to them (House of Representatives) the resolution for them to adopt. That will be the mechanics here in the Senate as far as we are concerned,” he said.

Zubiri said that during his conversation with the President after the signing of the two laws, Marcos agreed that the voting should be done separately.

“Alam naman niya, sabi niya, it should be voted upon separately. As a matter of fact, he wants the House to adopt our version. Very nice. It was a very good meeting, very cordial. And what’s important here is we had a sense, na gusto niya economic provisions lamang. Ayaw niya ng gulo, ayaw niya magkaroon ng controversy. And then when the time comes to vote on it, (we) vote on it and then we present it to the House for their adoption (The President knows, and he said, it should be voted upon separately. As a matter of fact, he wants the House to adopt our version, very nice. It was a good meeting, very cordial. And what’s important here is we had a sense, that he just wants only the economic provisions. He does not want any trouble, he does not want controversy. And when the time comes to vote on it, [we] vote on it, and then we will present it to the House for their adoption),” he said.

Zubiri said their talk with the President was limited only to RBH 6.

When asked if they tackled RBH No. 7 which is being discussed at the House of Representatives, Zubiri replied in the negative and said: “As far as he [President] is concerned, the Senate will lead. So, if the Senate will lead, that’s RBH 6.”

Sen. Francis Tolentino said both houses of Congress should “vote separately” on the proposed amendments to the Constitution even if it is not provided in RBH 7, which was filed by the lower chamber as the counterpart version of RBH 6.

He noted that RBH 7 and RBH 6 are almost identical, except that the former does not contain the “voting separately” clause in the Senate’s version as a voting mode to approve the proposed changes to the Charter.

In a press conference, Tolentino, who is a lawyer, said the bicameral nature of the Philippine Congress “is well enshrined” in the system, thus there is no reason for both chambers of Congress to vote jointly on the issue of the proposed amendments to the Charter.

“Well-enshrined ang bicameralism sa ating sistema. Hindi pa naman tinatanggap na unicameral body na ang dalawang kapulungan, kaya voting separately ‘yun (Bicameralism is well enshrined in our system and the unicameral body has not yet been accepted by both chambers of Congress. That’s why it will be ‘voting separately,’” Tolentino said.

He said how the amendments to the Constitution are now being done “is pursuant to the 4th mode” based on the formula of the late Fr. Joaquin Bernas, where the process of amendments will be done through the ordinary legislative process.

The three modes of amending the Charter are through a constitutional convention, constitutional assembly, and people’s initiative.

“We are going to use the 4th mode but even if the resolution is silent as to the manner of voting, the 4th mode implies voting separately because of the bicameral nature of Congress. Dinidinig namin ito (We are discussing this) separately, filed separately. Even though they are silent, the mere acceptance of the 4th mode implies voting separately,” Tolentino said.

“No need to rush. The Senate approves RBH 6 without a self-imposed deadline. RBH 7 is approved by the HOR even with a self-imposed deadline. It will have to be reconciled in a bicam. The end product will be submitted to the people for a plebiscite. Ultimately, the people will decide on this,” Tolentino said.

ADOPT IN TOTO

Romualdez said the House of Representatives will adopt “in toto” the Senate’s RBH 6 to put to rest allegations that congressmen are just out to prolong the terms of elected officials.

Romualdez said the House will do it even if congressmen have already started tackling RBH 7 after convening into a Committee of the Whole yesterday afternoon to hear the opinions of resource persons and constitutional experts, including retired Chief Justice Reynato Puno and retired SC Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna.

“Now, to dispel doubts that the efforts of the House of Representatives in pushing for the amendment of the economic provisions of the Constitution is politically motivated, we are adopting all the three (3) proposed amendments of the Senate version of Resolution of Both Houses No. 6, in toto,” the Speaker said in a speech right after the Committee of the Whole was convened.

The Speaker, a first cousin of President Marcos Jr., said the move “should ensure the public that Congress is only touching on the economic provisions that need to adapt with the changing times.”

“There is absolutely nothing in RBH 7 that hovers on any political provision of the Constitution,” he said of the measure, which is almost identical to the Senate’s RBH No. 6, one of the only few differences from the House version is the line specifying that the voting should be done separately by both Houses.

The House leadership intends to pass RBH No. 7 like an ordinary bill because the Constitution does not say if the House and the Senate should vote jointly or separately on Charter change.

If there are differences between the House’s and the Senate’s versions of the measure, a bicameral meeting can also be held to reconcile it although it is unlikely to happen now that the House has already declared that it will adopt the Senate’s version.

Romualdez said the House’s mission is clear: to change the Constitution’s “restrictive” economic provisions “which hinder the entry of businesses from other countries.”

“Mga negosyong lilikha ng trabaho at magpapasigla ng ating ekonomiya. Ito lamang ang pakay natin. Ekonomiya, hindi pulitika (These are businesses that will create jobs and rejuvenate the economy. This is our only motive. Economy, not politics),” the Speaker said.

The Speaker reiterated that the proposed amendments to the economic provisions of the Constitution are only limited to the following: reforming the public service sector, open access of children to the best educational institutions, whether Filipino or foreign-owned; and liberalizing the advertising industry.

Mandaluyong City Rep. Neptali “Boyet” Gonzales II, a former majority leader, said the House hopes to send the approved economic Charter amendments to the Comelec before Congress goes on its Holy Week recess next month.

He said the amendment proposals, if approved by the House and the Senate, would be transmitted to the Comelec, instead of the Office of the President, for the scheduling of a plebiscite for their ratification by the people.

He said House leaders made it a point to have RBH 7 as a “replica” of the Senate’s RBH 6 to hasten the process of considering and approving the proposed amendments.

‘IS THIS CON-ASS?’

The Speaker said the Committee of the Whole, which will be held from Mondays to Wednesdays, “will allow us to act with dispatch on this crucial matter, and enable every member to freely contribute in the discussion of this most important proposal.”

However, at the start of the hearing yesterday which was held in the plenary, Rep. France Castro (PL, ACT) questioned the move to convene the House into a Committee on the Whole, saying the Constitution provides that each bill and resolution should only tackle one subject matter.

“Constituent assembly na ba ito? (Is this a Constituent Assembly already?)” said Castro. “Para na tayong nagko-constituent assembly (It’s like we’re in a constituent assembly).”

Gonzales, who was the acting majority floor leader, said Castro can characterize the Committee of the Whole as a “con-ass or a legislative body, (because) either way, it is exercising its constituent powers.”

“Like an ordinary bill, it should pass three readings, the only difference in terms is that the voting should be at least three-fourths of all members. Nothing prevents the House from constituting itself as Committee of the Whole,” he said.

Castro insisted that only one topic per resolution can be tackled and urged the House leadership “should be frank” and declare if it considers the con-ass convened but Gonzales said she should have raised her objection last week when the motion to convene the House into a Committee of the Whole was raised.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said that the House cannot be considered a con-ass, which, he said, is an “assembly of senators and representatives to propose amendments to the Constitution.”

Cagayan De Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chair of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, maintained that the amendments to the economic provisions of the Constitution cover “one subject matter only and it pertains to the three provisions on economic provisions.”

ECONOMIC CHA-CHA

Former president Rodrigo Duterte has softened his stance on the proposed amendments of the 1987 Constitution, as he is now open to the idea provided that the changes would be limited to improving provisions that would lead to benefits for the Filipinos in general and not solely for the personal gains of a few people especially the incumbent officials including President Marcos Jr.

Duterte said on Sunday night during the prayer rally against Charter Change in Cebu City that was organized by the Cebu Coalition for Transparency, Accountability, Peace and Security, that he is now open to amending the Constitution via the people’s initiative which he said may be difficult to achieve.

He said he is also open to amending the political terms of officials, including the president, provided that when the amendments are made and ratified by the people, it will not benefit the current sitting officials and the next set of elective officials.

Any amendments to the Constitution, especially those concerning political terms or the term of office of officials, should take effect after the next national elections, he said.

“Ako mag-suportan changes in the Constitution, economic provisions, whatever, even in the terms sa tanang chapter diha pati na apil na ang kanang termino sa presidente, ok ko basta dili mo pabol sa kaligkud karon ug sa sunod na eleksyon (Me, I am in favor of changing the Constitution. Economic provisions, whatever, even the terms in all the chapters there, including the term of the president. I am ok, but I am not in favor of the current officials and the next elections),” Duterte said.

Duterte reminded Marcos, and the other elective officials, that as president he was elected for a single term of only six years and he should already “be happy with that.” — With Wendell Vigilia and Jocelyn Montemayor

 

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