President Duterte appears not interested in having the 1987 Constitution amended that is being pushed by some members of the House of Representatives.
He has only two years left to complete his mandatory one-time, six-year term burdened with his responsibility of resolving the myriad problems triggered by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.
These are some of the thoughts of Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson, chairman of the Senate National Defense and Security Committee, on the pressing national issues that might be touched by the President when he delivers Monday his State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) at the opening of the second regular session of the 18th Congress.
"Mukhang hindi siya interesado. Pero sa nakikita nating natitirang panahon baka napakahirap na. Hindi pa resolved ang issue na voting jointly or separately (It seems he is not interested. The way we see it, it is difficult (to amend the Constitution) with the limited period remaining),’’ he said during a DWIZ radio interview.
Lacson said the Senate is definitely not about to enter into a situation where the mode of voting -- separately or jointly -- is problem because the senators’ votes might not make a difference.
He was referring to the unresolved issue of whether the votes of the 24 members of the Senate would be counted separate from the about 300 members of the House.
If the two legislative chambers vote jointly, the votes of 24 senators would be ‘’eaten’’ or considered a dewdrop in the 300 votes of congressmen and congresswomen, he pointed out.
‘’Hanggang di resolved ang issue na 'yan. Kasi di maliwanag ang interpretation ng Constitution mismo. Kailangan balikan pa natin deliberation ng ConCom delegates (Not until the voting issue is resolved…The constitutional interpretation of that provision is not clear. We have to go back to the deliberation of the Constitutional Commission that drafted the Charter),’’ he added.
Lacson, a member of the Senate Majority Bloc, was not optimistic that the Constitution would be amended next year because congressmen would be busy for the coming May 2022 national elections.
Thus, a quorum would be difficult to achieve, he added.
Asked if the issues to be mentioned by President in his SoNA are crucial, Lacson said it could be anticipated that the COVID-19 pandemic would be included.
He said it is likely that the President would talk on the scheduled Senate Committee of the Whole public hearing on the alleged ‘’widespread corruption’’ at the graft-laden Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) as exposed by its anti-graft officer, Thorrson Montes Keith.
Lacson said a resolution he and Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III and some senators would be filing Monday for a public hearing on the PhilHealth issue would contain allegations that it paid P443 million to unaccredited hospitals in Region 5 and in Region 8 that supposedly treated COVID-19 patients in one or two weeks while other hospitals beg for reimbursements from the agency.
One such hospital in one of the two regions had only one COVID-19 patient, he added.
He said corruption at PhilHealth has become systemic. He feared it might be declared bankrupt in 2022.
Asked if the President would be able to fulfill his economic recovery program before his term ends, Lacson replied: ’’Medyo mabigat.’’
‘’Kasi napakarami na nating nauutang at di pa natin nakikita kung meron talagang gamot o cure o vaccine itong COVID-19. Napakahirap. Ang uncertainty lahat tayo nanangamba baka isang araw uuwi isang member ng pamilya natin o tayo mismo at positive sa COVID-19. Napakahirap na situation actually (The country is heavily indebted and we still do not have a vaccine or cure for COVID-19. It is hard. There is uncertainty for all as we or members of our family might fall victim to the deadly virus. The situation is difficult),’’ he added.