A hybrid Constitutional convention (con-con) composed of both elected and appointed delegates is the best method in revising the 1987 Constitution.
Former Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Reynato Puno made this pitch Monday, Feb. 20 during the seventh public consultation-slash-hearing on pro-Charter Change (Cha-cha) measures filed in the curent 19th Congress.
Puno was a resource person in the hearing held by the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments.
"That I submit your honors should be the model that ought to be adopted. A hybrid convention with delegates who are independent and will not be influenced by interests other than the general welfare of the people and will be composed of delegates who are knowledgeable, who will not lead us into sleepwalking into an uncertain and perilous future," Puno told the panel.
"This model will ensure a Constitutional convention that is both independent and competent," he said.
He noted that amendments to the Charter can be carried out in any of three methods: via Constitutional convention (con-con), constituent assembly (con-ass), and people's initiative (PI).
"I will not belabor the three ways of amending or revising our Constitution. To the point, I respectfully submit that the best way to amend or revise the Constitution is through a Constitutional convention.
"But I am not suggesting the traditional Constitutional convention where all the members are elected by the people," Puno said.
"Given the seeming deteriorating of our political processes, there is the lurking danger that the elected delegates to the Constitution convention--and pardon me for saying it--would be just proxies or factotums of political dynasties and economic oligarchs," he noted.
The former top magistrate further worried that people with the needed expertise in politics, in law, in economics, "may not join the election knowing its futility".
"I therefore suggest to your honors, that they call for a hybrid Constitutional convention. Hybrid in the sense that membership of the Constitutional convention will come from election and from appointments," he said.
Under such hybrid con-con, the Puno said x number of seats may be filled up by election and another x number, may be filled up by appointments.
"There should be a process in both election and appointment in order to ensure that the election is non-partisan, in order to ensure that the election will not be costly. On the other hand, the appointees should be strictly vetted to ensure their expertise and to ensure their non-partisanship," he underscored.
"The body that will undertake this important vetting can be composed of representatives from the executive and the legislature. In other words, the power to appoint these experts will not be monopolized by the executive," he said.
"I submit that Congress has the power the determine the composition of the Constitutional convention. This hybrid model has been used in other countries with no serious Constitutional issues raised against it," he further said.
Cavite 4th district Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr., Northern Samar 1st district Rep. Paul Daza, and Iloilo 3rd district Rep. Lorenz Defensor were among the solons in the hearing who gave favorable comments to Puno's suggestion.