SENATOR Robin Padilla filed a petition on Monday, August 5, 2024, asking the Supreme Court (SC) to decide whether the Senate and the House of Representatives should vote jointly or separately on amendments to the 1987 Constitution.
Padilla, who chairs the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes, filed an instant petition seeking an “authoritative declaration” regarding Sections 1 and 3 of Article 17 of the Constitution.
He cited the following provision, which requires declaratory relief:
Whether the Senate and House of Representatives should jointly convene as a constituent assembly when proposing amendments to, or revisions of, the Constitution under Section 1(1), Article XVII of the Constitution;
When voting jointly, should the requirement of a 3/4 vote under Section 1(1) be interpreted as 3/4 of the Senate plus 3/4 of the House, or 3/4 of all 24 senators together with all members of the House of Representatives;
Whether the Senate and House should jointly convene and assemble when voting to call a Constitutional Convention and/or to submit to the electorate the question of calling such a convention;
When voting jointly, should the requirement of a 2/3 vote under Section 3, Article XVII be interpreted as 2/3 of the Senate plus 2/3 of the House, or 2/3 of all 24 senators together with all members of the House;
When voting jointly, should the requirement of a "majority vote" under Section 3, Article XVII be interpreted as a majority vote in the Senate plus a majority vote in the House, or a majority vote of all 24 senators together with all members of the House.
“Inaamin na po ng mga nagsagawa, sumulat ng Constitution… sinasabi na po nila na talagang nagkulang sila sa usapin na ‘yun, na dapat ‘yun ay voting separately,” Padilla said in an interview with reporters.
(The people who drafted and wrote the Constitution are admitting that they fell short on that issue and that there should have been separate voting.)
“Kaya sana po, sa wisdom po, sa tinatawag nating maliwanag na pag-iisip ng ating mga hukom, mabigyan na po nila. Hindi po tayo humihingi ng advice, humihingi po tayo ng resolba, nakikiusap po tayo sa Mataas na Hukuman na i-resolba na po nila itong away na ito,” he added.
(Therefore, we hope that through the wisdom and the clear thinking of our judges, they will be able to provide a resolution. We are not asking for advice; we are asking for a decision. We are appealing to the Supreme Court to resolve this conflict.)
In February, Padilla filed a resolution seeking separate voting by the upper and lower chamber of Congress in amending the Constitution.
During the opening of the third regular session of the 19th Congress on July 22, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said the Senate will set aside legislative proposal that merely dissipate the energy of lawmakers and divide the public, noting that pending bills on charter change will be placed in the “backburner.” (TPM/SunStar Philippines)