Cha-cha pushed over ‘vague’ provisions – BusinessWorld Online
AMENDING the 1987 Philippine Constitution would prevent recurring legal disputes and reduce reliance on the Supreme Court to resolve ambiguities in the charter, a congressman said on Tuesday.
In a media briefing, House Deputy Speaker and Antipolo Rep. Ronaldo V. Puno said that he’s proposing a constitutional convention to amend “vague” provisions in the charter, like when the Senate should convene as an impeachment court and how Congress should vote on tax measures.
“We can’t keep running to the Supreme Court every time we don’t understand each other, especially when we’re arguing over a single word,” he said in Filipino.
He said the House is only interested in amending the “ambiguous” provisions of the Constitution, and his proposal won’t touch on changing term limits or the form of governance.
“What we want is to fix the vagueness, ambiguities, and the things that were forgotten to be mentioned in our Constitution,” Mr. Puno said. “Things like changing the form of government, we have no plans for that, and we’re not even thinking about it.”
Charter change (Cha-cha) efforts have been a recurring theme in Philippine politics, but previous attempts have always faltered due to lack of public support, driven in part by concerns about political motives. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio