Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo prods Senate on Charter Change

MANILA, Philippines — Outgoing Speaker and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is asking senators to tackle the House of Representatives’ resolution seeking Charter change (Cha-cha), which includes a proposal for a federal constitution and the lifting of term limits for lawmakers.

Her appeal is contained in a letter she sent to Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Wednesday.

She said the Cha-cha resolution is one of 11 priority measures of President Duterte that the House has approved and but remains pending in the Senate.

Arroyo said she and her colleagues “await the action of the Senate and stand ready to adopt the Senate version in the interest of speedy legislation.”

The House passed the Cha-cha measure – Resolution of Both Houses No. 15 – in December last year.

It contains the congressmen’s version of a federal constitution, though it does not provide for an automatic shift to the federal system. It empowers Congress to pass an enabling law, upon petition by any interested region, constituting such area into a federal state.            

It retains the present presidential system but with the president and vice president elected as one ticket, similar to the practice in the US, instead of being voted separately.             

Under the proposal, the president and vice president would have a term of office of four years with one reelection.            

It also retains the present bicameral Congress composed of the Senate and House of Representatives. The term of office of lawmakers would be four years without limit to their reelection.

The proposed new charter returns the country to the old two-political party system, instead of the current multi-party setup.

The other measures Arroyo is appealing to the Senate to pass are: Security of Tenure Act, Coconut Industry Trust Fund Act, National Land Use Act, the bill creating the Department of Disaster Resilience, TRABAHO (Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities) bill, proposed law creating a new fiscal regime for the mining industry, tax increase for alcohol products, tax increase for cigarettes and tobacco, and reforms in real property valuation and assessment.            

They also include the proposed Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act of 2019, the resolution proposing revision of the 1987 Constitution and the proposed law on reformation and rehabilitation of children in conflict with the law.            

Arroyo said the House wants pending administration bills approved before the outgoing 17th Congress ends its third regular session next weekend.