A veteran solon expressed strong objection to the proposed political amendments to the 1987 Constitution which was suggested by presidential adviser Larry Gadon.

According to Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, he is confident that House leaders will throw the letter of Gadon to the garbage can.

Rodriguez, chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, urged Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez to ignore the political amendment proposals Gadon, a losing senatorial candidate and a disbarred lawyer.

“I urge Speaker Romualdez to completely disregard Gadon’s letter (proposing political amendments),” Rodriguez said.

The solon said he has no doubt that his House boss would just throw the letter into the garbage can “because the Speaker has repeatedly echoed the stand of our President BBM that only economic Charter reforms should be considered and effected.”

He said Gadon, as a presidential adviser, should heed the President’s statement.

The Mindanao lawmaker recalled that President Marcos, in a speech before the Philippine Constitution Association last Feb. 8, unequivocally stated that he was advocating only economic amendments.

He quoted the President as saying: “I want to make it clear: This administration’s position in introducing reforms to our Constitution extends to economic matters alone, or those strategically aimed at boosting our country’s economy. Nothing more.”

Rodriguez is one of the co-authors of Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 7, the House version of the economic Charter change proposals which only amends provisions on public utility, higher education and advertising. The Senate version is RBH No. 6.

“As a co-author of RBH 7, I will never support political amendments,” Rodriguez said.

He said it is suggestions like those of Gadon and questions on political changes in surveys such as those included in the recent Pulse Asia poll that confuse the public on the advocacy of the President and leaders of the House and the Senate on economic Charter amendments.

He noted that while most Filipinos supported Charter reform in a recent survey of big data research firm Tangere, the opposite is what was reflected in a Pulse Asia poll.

The Mindanao lawmaker reiterated his appeal for the Senate to pass its economic constitutional amendment version, RBH 6, authored by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senators Loren Legarda and Juan Edgardo Angara, as soon as Congress reconvenes later this month.

He said Senate approval of RBH 6 would put to rest the issue on the coverage of the Charter change initiative.

Among Gadon’s political amendment proposals are changing the term of local officials and House members from three years to six years, the same as those of the President, Vice President and senators, so the nation would have elections every six years, instead of every three years.