MANILA - There is no Charter change yet, a lawmaker said Friday.
Camarines Sur Representative Luis Villafuerte, the man behind the controversial resolution seeking to convene Congress into a constituent assembly, said he was bowled over by negative reactions from various sectors, including the Catholic Church and religious groups, which had even threatened to lead street protests over the initiative.
"There is no cha-cha [Charter change]. What is in the text of my resolution -- only to establish a mode and not yet to propose specific amendments, so why all these reactions?" Villafuerte told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview Friday.
Villafuerte, president of the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Partner of the Free Filipino, Kampi), the President's political party, is the author of a resolution calling for the convening of Congress into a constituent assembly.
In his resolution, Villafuerte said he also specified that there would be no shortening of term for the 12 senators elected in 2007 and that there would be no term extension for all incumbent officials, to ally fears that it could pave the way for President Gloria Macpagal-Arroyo’s stay in office beyond 2010.
"We are just in step one, we have to establish first which mode we are adopting to amend the [1987] Constitution," he said.
Resolutions proposing specific amendments to the Charter, are in fact, premature until the mode is established, Villafuerte said.
The lawmaker said he would file his resolution when it gets three-fourths of the total membership of Congress, or 197 of his colleagues (179 of the 239 House members and 18 of the 24 senators) to sign the measure.
Villafuerte said he was hoping that the House action to convene into a constituent assembly could create a "justiciable controversy" that would prompt a group or individual to raise it before the Supreme Court, which would be expected to determine whether Congress as a constituent assembly should vote jointly or separately in proposing changes to the Constitution.
"I think this issue has to be settled this early. It will not harm anybody at this point in time if we seek the Supreme Court's decision on the matter so the mode of amending the Charter could already be established," Villafuerte said.
"Kung walang paraan, walang pwedeng sumakay [If there is no mode, then no one can ride]," he added.
In a separate interview, Majority Floor Leader Arthur Defensor said the House resolution to convene into a constituent assembly might not be sufficient for the high tribunal to get into the picture. He said there should be a similar initiative coming from the Senate.
Defensor, however, said a constituent assembly might not take off at this time because a number of senators has expressed preference for a constitutional convention.
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