SOME members of the Consultative Committee (ConCom) tasked with proposing amendments to the 1987 Constitution said that political turncoats, such as those seen recently in the Lower House, would have a harder time if the federal constitution they’ve crafted is approved.

In a statement, ConCom spokesperson Ding Generoso said that the draft constitution that has been submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte contains strong provisions against political turncoats, political “butterflies” and “balimbing.”

“If the ConCom proposals had been in place, more than half of the present members of the House who have been moving from one party to another would lose their seats and would be barred from running in the next elections,” Generoso said.

Some legislators have reportedly bolted from the administration’s PDP-Laban party after Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was elected as speaker of the House of Representatives last Monday.

But at least one Cebuano legislator said he has no plans of shifting to another party despite the sudden change in the Lower House’s leadership.

Based on Section 7, Article 5 of the draft federal constitution, elected officials are prohibited from changing parties during their term of office.

Elected officials are not allowed to shift political parties two years before and two years after a national election.

Penalty for changing sides

Political turncoats may face the penalty of removal from public office and may be barred from appointment to any post in government or from running in the next election.

Political parties that accept turncoats may face cancellation of their registration with the Commission on Elections, if the proposal is approved.

In a separate interview, Rep. Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas (Cebu Province, first district) said he has no plans to shift to another party.

He made the statement in response to reports that some of his colleagues in the Lower House had transferred to Arroyo’s party, Lakas-CMD. (Lakas-CMD, however, forms part of the coalition organized by President Rodrigo Duterte’s congressional allies.)

Gullas told SunStar Cebu that during a meeting with Speaker Arroyo earlier this week, she assured PDP-Laban-affiliated legislators that she will continue to be a member of the administration coalition and would work to strengthen it.