House panel okays con-con for charter revision
THE House Committee on Constitutional Amendments approved a resolution calling for a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) as a mode in amending or revising the 1987 Constitution.
At least 16 members of the committee voted in favor of the resolution of both Houses while three solons from the Makabayan bloc expressed their opposition.
However, chairman of the committee Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez clarified that an accompanying bill will also undergo panel’s discussion after this so-called “general statement.”
“Be it resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives with a vote of two-thirds of all its members, voting separately, to call a Constitutional Convention for the purpose of proposing amendments to or revision of the 1987 Constitution,” the resolution stated.
The resolution added that “the election of delegates shall be held on October 30, 2023, simultaneous with the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.”
“The approval of this resolution is a general statement of our committee, and there will be an accompanying bill that will be discussed after this,” Rodriguez said.
Earlier, the committee had launched a public consultations to get the pulse of Filipinos if they agree or not in amending the Constitution.
Northern Samar Rep. Paul Daza requested the panel to give the members enough time to study the accompanying bill before putting it on a vote.
Daza abstained from voting because he is more in favor of the Constituent Assembly or Con-Ass.
The bill seeks to adopt a “hybrid Con-Con” as proposed by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno.
Under the hybrid model, the delegates will be elected by the voting public while the experts will be appointed and vetted by the executive and legislative department.
