Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 21) — The House Committee on Constitutional Amendments will defer its plenary deliberations on charter change as it reviews other reform proposals submitted by an inter-agency body.
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said he and his colleagues will recall the resolution seeking to amend the 1987 Constitution following new comments from the Task Force on Federalism and Constitutional Reform.
“We go back to the drawing board. We are going to hear their proposals because this is now the DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government),” Rodriguez, who chairs the House panel, said in a briefing Tuesday.
“We are going therefore not to proceed yet with the plenary discussions on the proposed amendments… the committee amendments that we have proposed and approved in the committee,” he added.
The lawmaker said the Task Force’s inputs are deemed valuable as the group has already conducted nationwide public consultations on charter change.
The House committee’s draft report, approved behind closed doors in December, proposes several amendments to the Constitution—including a fixed five-year term for all members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as local officials.
The resolution also wants to increase the number of senators from 24 to 27 – with designated representatives from various regions. It also proposes a tandem voting for the President and Vice President in the elections, as well as a provision that would ease restrictions on foreign business ownership.
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With the new development, Rodriguez said the plenary debates—originally eyed this month—will only be able to start in May.
“We will not be able to approve this within March, but we are sure by March, before we adjourn on March 11, we would have already heard the proposals of the inter-agency and also the DILG,” the lawmaker said.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año meanwhile expressed optimism that the proposed constitutional reforms will be passed by lawmakers before President Rodrigo Duterte’s term ends in 2022.
“We are optimistic that this constitutional reform that we are advocating for will be heard by Congress and the Senate,” Año said in a statement Tuesday.
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CNN Philippines’ Xianne Arcangel contributed to this report.
