BY Wendell Vigilia
DEPUTY Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. yesterday vowed to renew his push for Charter change in the next Congress no matter who will be the country’s next president.
“On Day One of the incoming 19th Congress, or on July 1, I will refile my Resolution of Both Houses No. 7 to start the debate on Cha-cha,” said Gonzales, who is running unopposed as representative of the third district of Pampanga.
Congress adjourned its session last week for the three-month election campaign without passing any measure seeking constitutional amendment but will reconvene after the May elections to canvass the votes for President and Vice President before the next Congress opens in June.
Gonzales is proposing longer terms for president, vice president and other local officials even if the administration has already shelved its Charter change initiative in preparation for the May national elections.
He wants the Senate and House to convene as a constituent assembly to consider proposed constitutional amendments giving the President a term of five years with one re-election, or a total of 10 years, instead of the present six years without re-election.
The same term was proposed for the vice president, members of the House of the Representatives, governors, mayors, and other provincial, city and town officials.
RBH No. 7 would not affect senators and barangay officials, who would continue to have six years and five years, respectively.
Under the present Constitution, the President is limited to one six-year term, while the Vice President enjoys the same tenure but is allowed one reelection.
“A six-year tenure is too short for a good President, especially if he is confronted with a crippling crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic. On the other hand, if we do not like the way the President is governing, we can vote him out of office a year earlier if his term of office were five years,” Gonzales said.
He is also proposing that the President and Vice President be elected in tandem, meaning a vote for the President is a vote for the Vice President.
Gonzales urged Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian to refile his resolution which also calls for tandem voting “so we can get an early consensus in the two chambers of Congress on Cha-cha.”
