Deputy Speaker and Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez is urging his fellow lawmakers to defer the Charter Change (Cha-Cha) to the next Congress as the House of Representative is already running out of time to tackle its resolution.
He made the appeal Tuesday, Dec. 18, after the House already referred Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 7 to its committee on constitutional amendments.
"Obviously, we have no more time to tackle the resolution and other Cha-cha proposals before we adjourn for the election campaign in two weeks, on Feb. 5. So let’s allow the next Congress to decide on Cha-cha," Rodriguez said, adding it is the 19th Congress that should resolve Cha-Cha during the early part of its three-year term.
Rodriguez said, if the House would really want to pursue it, “then we give it priority, along with Covid-19 pandemic response measures.”
"If not, then we set it aside and focus on legislation. This way, we will not be wasting time and taxpayers’ money," he added.
According to him, it is important for the next president to tell his allies in the Congress what he or she would want to do in terms of reforming the constitution.
"The President has no direct participation in the process of amending the Constitution. But let’s face it, he has a say on it through his allies. Let’s accept the reality that Cha-cha will not take off without the direct or indirect agreement," he said.
Rodriguez noted that every Cha-Cha initiative since former president Fidel Ramos’ administration failed because it was pursued at the 11th hour.
"To avoid such suspicion and for Cha-Cha to succeed, it should be done on the first year of the next Congress and the first year of the six year term of the next President," he said.
Recently, Pampanga Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. filed RBH 7–the newest Cha-Cha measure in the House.
Among other Charter changes, the lawmaker wants to extend the President’s term of office at five years with one reelection, instead of the present six years without reelection.
Other Cha-Cha resolutions filed in the House were Rodriguez' RBH No. 1, where he proposed the shift of government to a federal system as well as House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco’s RBH No. 2, where he proposed an economic constitutional reform.