THE House of Representatives committee on constitutional amendments will not tackle the proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution until January or February 2021 to make way for measures against the Covid-19 pandemic, chairperson Rufus Rodriguez said on Thursday, August 27, 2020.

"The committee following the Speaker’s suggestion will meet in January or February next year,” Rodriguez said in a text message to reporters.

“We have to concentrate on the measures against Covid-19 and the 2021 proposed budget," he added.

Rodriguez, Cagayan de Oro 2nd District representative, had announced that he planned to convene the committee two weeks after President Rodrigo Duterte’s fifth State of the Nation Address last July.

In July, however, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said charter change is not among the priorities of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) is pushing for constitutional amendments.

Ilocos Sur Mayor and LMP president Chavit Singson said a resolution they passed pushed for the implementation of the Mandanas ruling of the Supreme Court and the lifting of restrictions on foreign investment in industries that are currently limited to Filipinos.

The Mandanas ruling provides that national taxes like customs duties are not excluded from the computation of the internal revenue allotment (IRA) shares of local government units. (SunStar Philippines)