Alvarez urges Duterte to form 'council of wise men' for charter change
MANILA, Philippines — Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Tuesday said that he will ask President Rodrigo Duterte to issue an executive order creating a constitutional commission.
Alvarez said that forming a constitutional commission composed of 20 to 25 constitutional law experts would address the issue of competency.
The House Speaker reacted to comments that some members of the Congress are not competent enough to form a constituent assembly.
"I don't think that is fair, 'yung comment na 'yun. There are a lot of competent persons in Congress. Hindi naman lahat siguro pero majority naman. We have been elected by the people so kung walang tiwala ang taumbayan wala sana kami dyan," Alvarez said in an interview on ANC's "Headstart" on Tuesday morning.
To address the issue of competency, Alvarez said that it would be better if the president would appoint constitutional experts from the academe and non-governmental organizations to the commission.
"If we are afraid that some congressmen are incompetent to amend or to do the revision of our present Constitution, electing delegates to the constitutional convention is not a guarantee that we will be electing the right people," Alvarez said.
The House leader noted that businessmen may support their preferred candidates to be elected as delegates to the convention.
"Will the delegates to be elected in the convention also be guided by common good if they will be elected, financed by businessmen also? All elections need money to win. Hindi naman lahat ng competent people meron ganoon kalaking pera para gastahin sa kampanya," Alvarez said.
Alvarez listed retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno, former Senate President Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel Jr., San Beda College of Law Dean Ranhilio Aquino, former Cagayan de Oro Mayor Reuben Canoy and Ateneo Law School Dean Emeritus Joaquin Bernas as possible members of the constitutional commission.
The proposed constitutional commission will be directed to study and draft the revised Constitution while the Congress is still deliberating on the 2017 budget, Alvarez said.
"By first quarter next year tapos na po sila sa trabaho nila then pwede na 'yung Congress to constitute ourselves into an assembly and this draft will be submitted to the constituent assembly for further deliberation and debate," the House Speaker explained.
The members of the constitutional commission will be present before Congress deliberations on the draft revised Constitution to defend their proposal.
The commission may start drafting the revised Constitution if Duterte issues the executive order this month.
After debating and deliberating on the provisions, the Congress eyes to conduct a massive information drive regarding the amendment of the Constitution.
A plebiscite for the revised Constitution will be held at the same time as the midterm elections on 2019 after the massive information drive, the speaker said.
Meanwhile, Duterte expressed his preference of forming a constituent assembly as a mode of changing the Constitution.
"I thought that a constitutional convention would be more in keeping with the constitutional promise that the people would really believe in and would trust," Duterte said.
Under the 1987 Constitution, there are three modes to amend the Charter: constituent convention, constitutional assembly and people’s initiative.
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