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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider PH's top 5 officials should form appointing panel for con-con delegates, says solon

PH's top 5 officials should form appointing panel for con-con delegates, says solon

Published Feb 23, 2023 07:15 pm

The country’s sitting President, Vice President, Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice, Senate President, and House Speaker--essentially, the top five officials of the land--should form the appointing committee for a certain number of delegates in the Constitutional convention (con-con) being pursued by the House of Representatives.

(Clockwise: Vice President Sara Duterte, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., SC Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri (Lakas-CMD, Facebook, SC website, Speaker’s office, Facebook)

Thus, said Charter change (Cha-cha) proponent Cavite 4th district Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr.

Specifically, the lawyer-solon is proposing that the con-con be composed of 51 delegates with three delegates elected per region and 40 delegates to be appointed by a committee composed of the President, the Vice President, the Chief Justice, the Senate President and the Speaker "who shall elect among themselves who shall be the chairman of the committee on appointments".

This is consistent with Barzaga's contention that the planned Cha-cha should be carried out via "hybrid" con-con--that is, a body composed of both elected and appointed delegates.

If the proposed law for the con-con is enacted today, then the appointing panel would be composed of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., Vice President Sara Duterte, Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

The con-con is one of three ways by which Cha-cha can be carried out. The other two are a constituent assembly (con-ass) and a people's initiative (PI).

Tapping appointees to a con-con alongside elected delegates was first pitched by retired former Chief Justice Reynato Puno during an earlier hearing of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments.

Needless to say, Barzaga liked the proposal. He laid out his hybrid con-con model in a letter sent to constitutional amendments panel chairman Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

"The appointees shall be of good moral character with known probity and considered as experts in their respective fields particularly, (1) health, (2) agriculture, (3) transportation, (4) information technology, (5) disaster resilience, (6) economics, (7) foreign investments, (8) environment, (9) labor, (10) infrastructure, (11) law and such other experts in other fields as may be determined by the committee on appointments and the various sectors in our community should be properly represented by at least one (1) appointee for every sector namely indigenous people, senior citizens, persons with disability, solo parents, LGBTQIA+, women, youth and other sectors which the appointing authority may consider necessary," wrote Barzaga.

Barzaga wrote Rodriguez to inform him of possible amendments to Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No.6, the legislation that provides for the use of a con-con in the bid to revise the existing 1987 Constitution.

Related Tags

hybrid elpidio Barzaga jr. con-con House of Representatives Cha-cha
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