Talks about Charter change amid pandemic ‘total waste of time’ – Drilon

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Thursday that plans to revive the deliberation of Charter change in the remaining term of President Rodrigo Duterte will be a “total waste of time.”

“It will be a total waste of time. It won’t fly. Our history tells us that Cha-cha has a zero chance of success in any administration that is already in the home stretch,” Drilon said in a statement.

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“It is a sin to be even talking about changing the Constitution when there is still no end in sight to the pandemic when the government is struggling to secure funding for COVID-19 vaccines, and when the country is still reeling from the continuing impact of the pandemic and the recent typhoons,” he added.

Drilon assured that the minority senators would oppose this move.

He said that instead of pushing for Charter change, lawmakers should focus on addressing inflation and creating job opportunities.

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Two pro-Duterte senators—Senator Bato Dela Rosa and Francis Tolentino— already filed a resolution asking the Congress to convene as a constituent assembly and amend the 1987 Constitution.

Talks about Charter change amid pandemic ‘total waste of time’ – Drilon

The resolution read, “The amendments will be limited to the provisions on democratic representation and the economic provisions of the Constitution.”

“It will reach a dead-end in the Senate. It will be an exercise in futility,” Drilon said.

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Meanwhile, Senator Panfilo Lacson said senators should discuss the matter thoroughly before the plenary debates on convening as a constituent assembly opens.

“Without the certainty that both chambers of Congress will be voting separately, and there is none due to the vagueness of that particular provision in the 1987 Constitution – and only the Supreme Court can make such interpretation – it’s like taking one big step into a mousetrap, or even quicksand for that matter,” Lacson said.

Opposition Senator Kiko Pangilinan also shared the same sentiment about Charter change.

“As was our approach in the previous Congress, it would be best if the matter be tackled and discussed first in an all Senators Caucus wherein a consensus as to how to move forward hopefully can be reached,” he said.