Press Release
November 24, 2006

GORDON ON CHACHA: WHY THE RUSH?

In yet another desperate attempt for charter change this time through Congress acting as a constituent assembly by the Administration and the House of Representatives, Senator Richard J. Gordon, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Revision of Codes and Laws, posed the following questions yesterday: "Why the rush before the May 2007 elections? Is it because they want to postpone the May 2007 elections to perpetuate power among themselves, especially for those who will be barred to run again because they have reached their term limits? Or are they apprehensive about the next batch of legislators who may have a different agenda?"

Gordon said that their time table for charter change in December will not give a document as sacred as the Constitution any justice. "The Constitution cannot just be amended or revised in a rush. It is the fundamental law of the land that we are talking about here," he emphasized.

Gordon commented that a hasty charter change at this time, aside from being imprudent, will definitely interfere with many important tasks and activities like the budget and the forthcoming elections. He advised that it would be better to take up charter change after the elections through Congress, acting as a constituent assembly, or a Constitutional Convention. He added that with or without the President, charter change will go on, but only if the country needs it and the people will truly benefit from it.

Gordon also said that the planned move to change the Constitution by Congress through a vote of ¾ of all its members voting jointly, meaning the House of Representatives can supply all ¾ or 195 votes of its members without the Senate, is a "futile attempt," because Congress is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Voting must be done separately according to the Senate in Senate Resolution No. 75 which Gordon sponsored. "If the members of the House of Representatives insist on this course of action, the Supreme Court will once again have to correct their grave abuse of discretion," said Gordon.

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