Tuesday, December 23, 2008 SC comment needed on separate voting
REP. Eduardo R. Gullas (Cebu Province, 1st District) stressed the need for the Supreme Court (SC) to interpret whether the Senate and the Congress have to vote separately on the proposed amendment to the 1987 Constitution.
Gullas, in his press conference last week, noted that the wording in the Constitution that mandates both the House of the Representatives and the Senate to “vote separately” has already been removed from its original form.
Under Article 17 (Amendments or Revisions) Section 3 of the 1987 Constitution, it provides that “the Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of all its members, call a constitutional convention, or by a majority vote of all its members, submit to the electorate the question of calling such a convention.”
The 1987 Constitution was created during the administration of then President Corazon Aquino following the popular military-backed People Power revolt that toppled the Marcos regime in 1986.
Assembly
But Article 15 Section 1 of the original 1935 Constitution stated that “Congress in joint session assembled, by a vote of three-fourths of all the members of the Senate and of the House of Representatives voting separately, may propose amendments to this Constitution or call a convention for that purpose.”
Gullas, a veteran lawmaker, described the 1935 and the 1973 Constitutions as “brief, concise and not verbose” as compared to the current Constitution.
Apprehensions
At present, two House resolutions seeking to amend the 1987 Constitution are now pending in Congress.
On apprehensions that the amendment to the Constitution may extend the term of President Arroyo beyond 2010, Gullas defended the filed measures, saying these were meant only to trigger “justiceable issues” for the High Tribunal to step in.
He cited House Resolution 737 of House Speaker Prospero Nograles, which clearly states the non-extension of terms of all elected officials including that of the President. So it assures the holding of regular elections in 2010.
A similar measure authored by Rep. Luis Villafuerte (Camarines Sur), also seeks for Congress to convene a Constitutional Assembly.
Still, Gullas clarified that the Villafuerte bill is similar to that of Nograles’ because it does not seek to extend the term of incumbent elective officials including that of the President. (GC)
