Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate and other members of the Makabayan bloc claim that the allies of President Rodrigo Duterte in Congress are reviving debates on charter change to keep the administration in power in the upcoming elections.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 7) Talks of amending the Constitution were revived in November in a meeting between President Rodrigo Duterte and lawmakers on possible changes to the party-list system, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said Thursday.
Sotto said he did not want to divulge information from the “private” meeting that the President called, but he had to clarify that Duterte never mentioned the possibility of term extension.
“Ang malinaw na tinanong agad ng Presidente pag-upo, ay sinabi niya (It’s clear that the President immediately said), ‘I want this problem with the CPP-NPA solved… The best way is that we remove the party-list system or change it in the Constitution so we can call for a constituent assembly and amend that,’” Sotto said in an online interview with reporters.
Charter change talks being revived in Congress
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 6) Lawmakers have disclosed efforts to tackle constitutional amendments in both houses of Congress with a hearing scheduled by a panel in the House of Representatives, and a resolution filed in Senate.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, AKO BICOL Party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr., head of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, posted photos of some lawmakers meeting with the caption “gearing up for constitutional amendments.”
When asked about this, Garbin said it is House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco’s directive “to tackle proposed amendments to restrictive economic provisions.” He said a hearing will be held on January 13.
By ERWIN COLCOL, GMA News
Published December 15, 2020 1:09pm Quezon Representative David Jayjay Suarez has called for the revival of Charter change (Cha-cha) talks at the House of Representatives, saying that building a better normal in the face of the current COVID-19 pandemic needs a better Constitution. In a privilege speech on Monday, Suarez recognized that reviving Cha-cha talks in the midst of a global pandemic may not be the best way forward, yet it does not answer the bigger question: When is the right time? Kailan nga ba ang tamang panahon upang pag-usapan ang isyung ito? Pag natapos na ang pandemya? Sinasabi na huwag pag-usapan ang reporma sa Saligang Batas hangga’t may krisis, pero hindi ba mas mabilis at maayos ang pagtapos sa krisis kung maitatama ang kakulangan ng sistema? he said.