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Con-con won't seek Senate abolition, Villafuerte assures senators
Con-con won't seek Senate abolition, Villafuerte assures senators
A ranking congressman has assured senators that the aboltion of the Senate won't be included in the plans of the proposed constitutional convention (con-con), which would be tasked to come up with possible amendments to the 1987 Constitution.
Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte said he believes that this fear among the senators would be the main reason why they would thumb down Charter change (Cha-cha).
“We appeal to members of the Senate to have an open heart and mind about this issue. You know, if they have concerns about the would-be con-con abolishing the Senate…that's not in the minds of who want to reform the Constitution," said Villafuerte, majority leader of the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA).
"Hindi po i-a-abolish ang Senate (The Senate won't be abolished). I think that's the fear . That's not in the minds of anyone at this point,” he said.
There's an aggressive push in the House of Representatives to form a con-con in order to pave the way for Constitutional amendments. The proposed con-con will have 314 delegates--251 to be elected from each district in the country, and 63 to be appointed.
Philippine Congress is bicameral, meaning it's composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
While pundits believe that the con-con measure--embodied in Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No.6--will gain the House's final approval before Congress goes on recess on March 25, the measure on Cha-cha will have a much tougher time prospering in the Senate.
The con-con delagates, once convened, may propose any kind of amendment to the Charter, although Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, has appealed for the would-be delegates to stick to revisions on the economic amendments.
Villafuerte explained why House members want to pass the con-con measure before March 25.
“We want to pass it before we go on break … and forward it to the Senate for them to discuss and study it. And the timeline really is, if it gets approved, we should conduct the con-con election of delegates at the same time as the BSKE (Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections) this October because I think it will save us a lot of money,” he said.
The BSKE polls is scheduled on Oct. 30, 2023.