CALASIAO, Pangasinan—House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said “senators are playing martyrs” on the proposed Charter change (Chacha).
De Venecia, proponent of the shift from presidential to parliamentary form of government, said the abolition is both the Senate and the House of Representatives as there will be one unicameral House parliament once Chacha is made.
Senators and congressmen are deadlocked on Cha-cha. Senators want that any amendment to the Constitution should be approved by the Senate and the House voting separately, with each chamber mustering a vote of three-fourths of all its members. But congressmen insist on their assertion that the two chambers should vote as one.
De Venecia said,” How can you have a Constituent Assembly voting separately? They will never have ¾ of the Senate”.
He added that “the senators refused to budge”.
Due to the constant failure and constant gridlock, he said there is the second standby alternative launched by the mayors and other local officials, civil societies and several other sectors and this movement is very far advanced.
“You cannot stop it anymore,” he said, referring to the people’s initiative mode through the signature gathering made to push for Chacha.
The next move for them will be to file their petition to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) which will certify that the petition is sufficient as to form and substance.
He said the Comelec will set the date of the plebiscite wherein under the Constitution, it should be within 60 days or 90 days. Then the opposition will challenge it in the Supreme Court which will be the next battle ground.
“Had the senators agreed, we will have a new parliament by July,” he said.
He clarified that he is “not yet giving up on Con-Ass (Constituent Assembly) mode”.
He added they are going to resume discussions with the senators on July 24.
He said Senator Richard Gordon doesn’t have to tell them about the economic restrictions of the proposed amendments when they talk because “because that is part of our program”.
He said their main program is unicameral, parliamentary, economic package restriction lifting and the federal system of government.
“He (Gordon) said that we will focus on the economic restrictions. That is part of our program. He doesn’t have to tell us,” de Venecia said.
Comments
July 1, 2006
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