Aquino against federal charter if this means 'no-el' in 2019

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines —  Senator Paulo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV on Thursday said he is not in favor of the draft federal constitution by the Consultative Committee (Con-Com) if passing it means having to postpone the elections or “no elections (no-el)” on May 2019.

“Ang mahalaga po ay magka-eleksyon tayo,” Aquino told reporters during his visit to Dumaguete City, where he met with local Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials to talk about the reforms on the youth council.

The senator described elections as “building blocks” of democracy, adding that he fears that some government officials may take advantage of the election postponement to extend their stay in office. “Kasi palagay rin po namin, gusto po talaga ng taong bayan na matuloy ang eleksyon,” he said.

The charter change is among the topics that will be under discussion once the Senate resumes session, with some senators inclined to resort to the Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) as the “ideal situation,” as the provisions to the Constitution will come directly from the people.

Aquino said that among the provisions of the draft federal constitution he disagrees with is on the election of senators per region. Local representation has already been addressed in the present Constitution through the House of Representatives, he said.

For his part, Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo however said that, while Aquino has made contributions to the development of this city, he doesn’t share the senator’s point-of-view on the draft federal constitution.

“Mas importante ma-approve usa ang Constitution (federal). For me, more than any election, ang Constitution maoy makahatag og kagawasan sa atong local governments. All the problems of the country, kinahanglan dili na presidente maoy mosulbad ana, kita na sa lokal,” Remollo said.

To recall, Aquino was among the national officials who contributed to the development of the Bypass Road at Barangay Looc of this city, which is now being repaved after 16 years.