LP leaders to meet with Noy on term extension

MANILA, Philippines - With mixed signals coming from the Palace and Liberal Party lawmakers regarding Charter amendments, LP stalwart and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad will initiate a meeting with party leaders to consult President Aquino on the issue.

Abad stressed the members of the ruling party should secure marching orders from the President regarding initiatives to amend the Constitution.

“We then have to meet with the President and try to understand if in fact there is a change of mind. And if there is a change of mind, what brought it about and what is the direction of that?” he said.

Abad said they have to clarify from the President which provision of the Constitution should be amended.

“Are we talking about just one aspect of the Constitution or are we considering what’s being advocated in the Senate or House of Representatives, which is to revisit the economic provisions,” Abad told reporters following the budget briefing in the Senate.

“We have to be in step with our leader. If he says, ‘we have to change,’ then we follow him, all the time,” Abad said.

Abad noted there has been “openness” on the President’s part recently on the need to address the power of the Supreme Court.

“Is Cha-cha (Charter change) a priority in the remainder of term? The President has clearly said that he has changed his attitude,” Abad said. “Does that mean he will? We don’t know. Certainly, there is now openness. The reason for that, he said, is that we have to deal with the judicial overreach.”

If there is openness on the President’s side, Abad said support for Charter change is possible.

“And so there is openness – insofar as the President is concerned – to revisit the Constitution because of this judicial overreach issue, then you’re just a step away from convincing him of the need to amend certain economic provisions,” Abad said.

“I’m not saying he’s agreeable to it but the fact that he has opened his mind to the possibility of Charter change, then for those advocating Charter change in the House they should look at that as a positive development,” he said.

Abad issued the statement a day after Senate President Franklin Drilon maintained the LP has not decided on its stand on constitutional amendments, including the possibility of extending the term of the President beyond six years.

However, Drilon said he and another party leader, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., have agreed to push for economic Cha-cha, which seeks to relax constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership of land and certain businesses.

“Our agreement with Speaker Belmonte is that once they have passed their proposed amendment in the House, we will work on it in the Senate, insofar as the phrase, ‘unless otherwise provided by law,’ on the economic provisions of the Constitution (are concerned),” Drilon said.

He said any attempt by House members to tinker with the political provisions of the Constitution would not easily get support from the Senate.

Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice has said he would file a resolution next week seeking changes in the political provisions of the Constitution.

Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Benitez, however, expressed strong doubts that attempts to lift term limits or extend the term of President Aquino will gain public support.

If the political Charter change efforts will reach the stage where the people will be asked to approve it in a referendum, Benitez said the plebiscite should be conducted in 2016, to coincide with the national and local elections so that no incumbent official will benefit from the amendments.

“When you talk about extending the term or lifting of term limits, what immediately comes to the minds of the people is self-preservation and self-serving interests,” he said.

Benitez also expressed belief that Aquino was sincere when he said in his last State of the Nation Address that he will step down from power in 2016.

Abad, on the other hand, said party members will have to toe the President’s line on the issue – whether it means amendments to Constitution to clip the powers of the Supreme Court or other amendments such as the economic provisions.

“A signal? He hasn’t said anything explicit about amending the Constitution to revisit the economic provisions... I’m not about to speak for him on that, “ Abad said.

Until President Aquino’s exclusive interview with TV5, Abad stressed the Chief Executive has been vocal that he won’t be supportive of any Charter change during his term.

“Until he spoke, our position has always been his position – which is not to entertain any recommendations to amend the Constitution. That was his position. It was useless for us to meet if the leader of the party feels that it’s not yet time,” Abad said.

“I guess there will be a meeting forthcoming to try to thresh this out,” he added.

Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone confirmed the ruling party is in the process of consulting its members on the issue of Charter change.

“We continue to engage and consult our party members to come up with a consensus on vital issues which we believe are acceptable and beneficial to the Filipino people,” he said.

Evardone said such issues include Charter change.

Evardone, who belongs to the ruling party, also denied the LP is divided on the issue of amending the Constitution.

Though he admitted that there were divergent views, these are “a sign of a vibrant, healthy and democratic political party, which encourages public discourse on issues affecting national interest,” Evardone said.

“There is no factionalism in the party but we are cognizant of the attempts of the opposition to sow intrigue and division to weaken the LP. We will not be distracted by these attempts,” he added.

Evardone pointed out the LP is solidly behind President Aquino’s “leadership and his reform agenda and we remain focused on helping him carry out his social covenant to improve the lives of the people.”

For their part, the Nacionalista Party bloc at the House and the Senate will also be meeting next week to determine their stand on Charter change.

Sen. Cynthia Villar said they also needed to come out with a stand once the proposed amendments have been submitted before the two chambers.

Makabayan foil

The seven-member Makabayan bloc of militant party-list representatives vowed to block any Charter change efforts in the House of Representatives.

“Whether it be economic or political in nature, we will do whatever we can to block all Cha-cha attempts,” said Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon, speaking for the group.

“Since the beginning of the 16th Congress, the Makabayan bloc has consistently opposed renewed efforts to amend the Constitution. Opening the Constitution to amendments will open the floodgates to self-serving revisions such as the lifting of term limits,” he said.

Ridon said Charter change initiatives would divide the people and even the House membership.

“Constitutional amendment is a matter that will greatly divide the House. Most members of the minority, and even some members of the majority, are not keen on opening the 1987 Constitution to piecemeal amendments,” he added.

Ridon, a lawyer by profession, also questioned the manner by which economic Charter change would be accomplished through the legislative mill.

Economic Charter change aims to lift restrictions on foreign ownership of land and certain businesses.

Ridon said “piecemeal legislation” is not one of three ways prescribed by the Constitution for Cha-cha – via constituent assembly, constitutional convention or people’s initiative.

The manner by which economic Charter change would be achieved is thus constitutionally questionable, he said.

Belmonte, who is pushing for changing certain economic provisions of the Constitution, has vowed to block any effort to change the political provisions as well, particularly those on term limits for elective officials.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares echoed Ridon’s statement that Makabayan would oppose any Charter change effort.

He said if any Cha-cha proposal is entertained, no one could be prevented from proposing other amendments, including those lifting term limits for the President, members of Congress and other officials.

For his part, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate also said any form of Charter change now, whether economic or political, is dangerous because it will open the Constitution to a complete overhaul.

Zarate said the Charter change initiatives now in Congress would open opportunities for lobby money from big foreign groups to flood Congress and Malacañang.

At the same time it would mean more foreign plunder and bureaucratic corruption, he said.

“It may not be long that we may become ‘squatters’ in our own country because foreigners would own most if not all of it; we will become a new colony by multinational foreign masters. It is therefore imperative that we must do all we can to stop it,” he added. – With Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero, Edith Regalado