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Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Minority bloc to ask high court to stop Con-Ass move by majority
FOLLOWING reports that the House leadership has already reached the 194 signatures needed to convene a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) to pave the way for Charter change, opposition legislators on Monday said they would immediately go to the Supreme Court (SC) to question its legality and constitutionality.
Although there was no confirmation yet that the House leadership has already attained the 194 signatures, House Deputy Minority Leader Satur Ocampo said they are now readying a petition to question House Speaker Jose de Venecia's formula.
The majority has been pushing for a resolution calling for the convening of Congress into a Con-Ass to introduce amendments to or revision of the 1987 Constitution.
This, despite a move taken by Sigaw ng Bayan ang Union of Local Authorities in the Philippines (Ulap) pushing Charter change via a people's initiative.
De Venecia is targeting 194 votes, representing three-fourths of the combined membership of Congress, with the Senate and the House voting together on the Charter change resolution.
An ally of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo over the weekend said they have finally reached the required number, adding that there were actually members of the minority who have signed the resolution.
Ocampo, during a press conference, said the minority maintains that the Constitution provides that the two houses of Congress should vote separately on the resolution.
"We will question the House leadership's interpretation before the Supreme Court," Ocampo said.
The militant lawmaker issued the statement a day before the resumption of the hearings on the proposed Con-Ass by the House committee on constitutional amendments chaired by Cagayan de Oro City Representative Constantino Jaraula.
Ocampo asked the House leadership to divulge the names of the minority members who have already signed the resolution endorsing Con-Ass.
Another party-list legislator, Representative Risa Hontiveros of Akbayan, expressed doubt on the announcement made by the House leadership that they had actually reached the targeted number.
"It is the duty of all members of Congress to reveal to the public their stand on Charter change. At the same time, there seems to be a need to verify if all those included in the majority's list are actually supportive of the resolution," Hontiveros said.
Hontiveros said some legislators had been made co-authors of House Resolution 1230, which seeks to convene the legislature into a Con-Ass to amend the Constitution, even without their knowledge and against their will.
She alleged that she and two other Akbayan representatives, Loretta Ann Rosales and Mario Aguja had been included as co-authors of the resolution despite their vocal opposition to Charter chamge.
It was earlier reported that 10 opposition congressmen, who had signed the anti-Charter change resolution of the minority, also signed the Con-Ass resolution of the majority.
Among them were Representatives Justin Marc Chipeco (Laguna), Juan Edgardo Angara (Aurora), Benjamin Agarao (Laguna), Mujiv Hataman (Anak Mindanao) and Florencio Noel (An Waray Partylist). (DBP/Sunnex)
(September 5, 2006 issue)
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