Press Release
December 28, 2008

Amendments to Charter can't be passed like ordinary bills

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today disputed the proposition of some legislative leaders that Congress can approve amendments to the 1987 Constitution in the same as it does for ordinary bills and resolutions.

Pimentel challenged the proponents of this theory to cite any specific provision of the Constitution which supposedly authorizes such simplified manner of initiating amendments.

The proponents in particular said that the House and Senate can separately pass a resolution amending certain economic provisions of the Charter using the procedures for ordinary legislations. They say that if there are different or conflicting provisions in the Senate and House amendments, these can be reconciled in the bicameral conference committee. The approved amendments can then be submitted to a plebiscite for ratification by the people.

Pimentel, however, said the Constitution clearly provides that Congress will have to convert itself into a Constituent Assembly before it can be authorized to amend the fundamental law. The two other modes of amendment is by calling a Constitutional Convention or by people's initiative.

"The process is not that simple. It starts with the approval by the Senate and House of a joint resolution converting themselves into a Constituent Assembly. They shall approve each amendment by a vote of three-fourths of the members of each chamber, voting separately," he explained.

Pimentel said it is unfortunate that the actual process of amending the Constitution for installing a more responsive and efficient system of government has not taken off the ground because the Senate and the House keep on debating endlessly on the mode of Charter revisions without agreeing on anything.

He assailed Palace lackeys in the House for insisting that the two chambers should vote jointly and not separately on amendments even if the framers of the Constitution - the members of the 1986 Constitutional Commission - have repeatedly said that this is not in keeping with the bicameral structure of Congress and therefore, patently unconstitutional.

"Worse, they have the gall to say that they can ignore the Senate and unilaterally approve the amendments just because we refuse to go along with their flawed proposal," the minority leader said.

He said the stand of the administration legislative allies for the Senate and House to vote on amendments as one body is contrary to elementary rule of fairplay and common sense because this will give rise to a ridiculous situation where in the House, consisting of more than 230 members will always outvote and overwhelm the 23-man Senate.

Pimentel said their intransigent but irrational stand only betrays their devious scheme to pursue a hidden agenda - that of lifting the term limits on the presidency and other elective posts or allowing the extension of their term of office beyond 2010.

In any event, he said there is no way such abominable move will prosper because the 23 senators have unanimously approved a resolution repudiating a joint voting on amendments and the proposition that the House can amend the Constitution with or without the participation of the Senate.

News Latest News Feed