Press Release
December 28, 2008

Gordon proposes Con-con after 2010 polls with newly-elected members of Congress as delegates

Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon has formally proposed the holding of Constitutional Convention (ConCon) after the May 2010 presidential elections, where the newly-elected members of Congress will sit as its delegates.

In filing Joint Senate-House Resolution No. 20, Gordon explained that any move to amend the 1987 Constitution must be done "at the proper time, for the right reasons and within Constitutionally-mandated means."

There is a clamor to amend the 1987 Constitution, but any such move must be done at the proper time, which is to my mind should be done after the 2010 elections, for the right reasons based on national interest, and within the legal means under the Constitution, he said.

Consistent with his stand when he was still chairman of the Senate constitutional amendments, Gordon proposed that ConCon is the most efficient way to introduce changes to the Charter as it will save on public funds that would be spent if a separate election of delegates to the ConCon will be held.

Calling a ConCon whose delegates will consist of the newly-elected members of both Houses of the 15th Congress is the most efficient way to propose amendments to the Constitution, he said, mindful that his stand is consistent with the very ideals of representative democracy.

It (ConCon) will also save on public funds that would be spent were a separate election of delegates to the ConCon be held, and further, if these delegates were to be granted allocations for the remuneration of their respective staff, he added.

Gordon also pointed out that the proposed ConCon should be made into an election issue so that the the need to amend the Constitution and the means by which to effect it will be fully explained to the electorate and it would produce intelligent voters come election time.

If we make the proposed ConCon into an election issue, then the people would not complain that the move to amend the Constitution was not explained to them. The ConCon would also make intelligent voters out of the electorate because voters would have to carefully choose the candidates, he said..

Gordon, the youngest ConCon delegate in 1971, noted that the proposal would also discourage politicians malpractice of getting their family members run for a separate election of ConCon delegates and ensure qualified candidates in 2010.

The government will no longer spend for politicians who are building political dynasties. And this way, we would also have qualified candidates to choose from because they (candidates) would have to lay down their vision and their platforms of government, he said.

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