GORDON WOULD WELCOME NEW HOUSE CHA-CHA RESOLUTION

If passed by the House of Representatives in plenary session, the new House resolution proposing amendments to, or revision of the Constitution would be welcome in the Senate and the desired changes in the Constitution proposed by our counterpart in Congress will be studied thoroughly, stated Senator Richard J. Gordon, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Revision of Codes and Laws.

This is actually a far better mode of charter change than the current peoples initiative being pushed by Sigaw ng Bayan and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), which clearly lacks an enabling law and is seriously beset with many problems and doubts, declared Gordon.

Gordon stressed, however, that in the anticipated House charter change resolution, the members of the House of Representatives should realize that voting to amend, or revise the Constitution must be done separately, consistent with Senate Resolution No. 75 expressing that any proposed amendment to, or revision of the Constitution requires the approval of the Senate and the House of Representatives voting separately.

Congressmen in the House of Representatives may be too eager to exercise this power of Congress to propose amendments to, or revision of the Constitution; but the proper process must be respected and followed under the Constitution, i.e. Congress composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives must vote separately in proposing amendments to, or revision of the Constitution, said Gordon.

If the House of Representatives refuse to abide by the Constitution, decide on voting jointly to propose amendments to, or revision of the Constitution, and insist that they outnumber us in the Senate, then the Supreme Court would have to be called to exercise its judicial power to correct grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of the House of Representatives, declared Gordon.

The House of Representatives cannot arrogate upon itself alone the constituent power of Congress to propose amendments to, or revision of the Constitution, stated Gordon. Congress consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives, he added.

With the forthcoming elections in 2007, Gordon also doubts that charter change will happen in the 13th Congress, which is now on its 3rd regular session. There are more pressing matters that need to be addressed at this time, such as the law on election modernization and an enabling law for peoples initiative to propose amendments to the Constitution, among others, said Gordon.