MANILA, Philippines— Voting 15-3-1, the the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments on Tuesday, February 21, approved a resolution seeking Constitutional Convention as a method to amend some provisions in the Philippine Constitution.
The committee approved the resolution on Monday with 15 congressmen voting yes and three voting no. There was one abstention.
Those who voted on the negative include Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro.
“Current and urgent problems that we are facing… do not stem from the 1987 Constitution,” Brosas said.
While Northern Samar First District Rep. Paul Daza abstained.
The committeee members voted for the resolution after the Committee on Constitutional Amendments conducted seven public consultations nationwide to solicit the views and opinions of the people as the committee presented the pro’s and the con’s of the proposal to the different sectors which include economic and political science experts, legal luminaries, Framers of the 1987 Constitution, and sectoral representatives and the public in general.
Committee chairperson Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez, said the vote of the majority signified that the members of the committee are supporting the the resolution calling for a constitutional convention as the method of amending the 1987 Constitution.
A constitutional convention (Concon) will create a separate body of representatives elected by the public that would vote on the revisions or amendments.
The resolution calls for the election of the delegates to the convention on Oct. 30, 2023, simultaneous with the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls.
According to the Committee, the approved resolution to hold a Constitutional Convention is the “most transparent, exhaustive, democratic and least divisive means of implementing constitutional reforms” compared to a Constituent Assembly or People’s Initiative.
The Constitution, which was adopted in 1987, states that any amendment or revision may be proposed either by Congress by a three-fourths vote of all its members or by a con-con.
The amendments could also be introduced through a people’s initiative in the form of a petition of at least 12 percent of the total number of registered voters, “of which every legislative district must be represented by at least 3 per centum of the registered voters therein.”
