MANILA, 7 December 2006 — In a move that has set the Senate and House of Representatives on collision course, allies of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in lower chamber voted to exclude senators from plans to shift to the current US-style presidential system to a parliamentary form of government.
In a marathon session that lasted until just before dawn yesterday, Arroyo’s dominant allies in the House of Representatives voted 164-25 to delete a provision in its rules that requires the Senate to concur on all proposed laws.
Senators, who are largely opposed to changing the political system from a bicameral Congress because their chamber would be abolished, said they would challenge the unilateral attempt to alter the constitution.
Majority of the Senate’s members, including members of Arroyo’s ruling coalition, said they were ready to fight on all fronts, including a showdown in a national plebiscite, against the lower house’s plan.
Senate President Manuel Villar convened a caucus of all senators yesterday to map out the course of action the chamber will take.
“I think the whole nation is chagrined at the brazenness in the manner that they try to railroad and cheat their own rules,” Sen. Richard Gordon said on television.
“If they really want to amend the constitution, if they really respect the constitution, they should allow for adequate discussion.”
Another recent attempt to amend the constitution was derailed in late November when the Supreme Court ruled against a “people’s initiative” petition to hold a referendum of voters on the issue.
Arroyo has championed the switch to a parliamentary system to end gridlock between the legislative and executive branches of government and between the two houses of Congress, with the hopes of faster policy-making and stronger economic growth.
With congressional and local elections due in May, critics accuse Arroyo and her allies of trying to use the proposed change to extend their terms in office and get rid of the Senate, which is weighted in favor of the president’s foes.
Arroyo, who has survived two impeachment attempts and at least one attempted coup, is due to finish her term in 2010.
“It is a desperate attempt on the part of congressmen for they already anticipate that they do not have a chance of winning in next year’s elections,” said Benito Lim, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines.
“The coming elections are crucial to President Arroyo and the majority in Congress because if the opposition wins it could mean that Arroyo could be impeached.” Most Filipinos want more political stability after decades of coup attempts and two “people power” uprisings, but many analysts doubt a parliamentary system would solve fundamental problems of corruption and a society dominated by elite clans.
Under the plan, the president and a newly created prime minister would share power for three years. After 2010, the prime minister would become head of a British-style parliament.
Three Hurdles
Villar said the House has to surmount three hurdles before it can replace the current presidential system a parliamentary form of government:
First, it must gather at least 195 signatures to approve proposed changes to the constitution. Then it has to win a battle in the Supreme Court where the Senate plans to challenge the constitutionality of the administration’s interpretation of the constituent assembly. Finally, the proposed changes will have to be approved by the people in a plebiscite, during which the Senate will campaign for a no vote.
“The Senate is prepared to act on those three stumbling blocks and we will do everything within our power to stop (the constituent assembly),” Villar told reporters.
Villar said he was set to present a new resolution to the senators reiterating their position in a unanimous March 2006 resolution that the Senate and the House must vote separately when proposing changes to the charter as a constituent assembly.
He said the Senate has also long been prepared to file a petition before the Supreme Court against a constituent assembly that will ignore the issue of separate voting for both chambers.
The Senate’s legal eagles, Sens. Joker Arroyo and Franklin Drilon, said the time for the Senate to intervene would be after the House has approved the proposed amendments and asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to set a date for the plebiscite, which is a requirement for constitutional changes to take effect.
‘Shameless Betrayal’
Senate Minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the House move was a “shameless betrayal of the public trust,” Sen. Panfilo Lacson described it as “nothing short of constitutional rape, “ while Sen. Miriam Santiago said Arroyo had been asking administration senators to join the efforts to convene a constituent assembly in the House.
“Oh, she’s been doing that consistently all the time, whether (for the) people’s initiative or now this (constituent assembly). She has never been shy about making her views known (about the direction) that she wants her administration senators to go,” Santiago said yesterday.
But she said she and other administration senators — Lito Lapid, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Ralph Recto — had difficulty deciding whether they should participate in the constituent assembly being convened by the House. “We’re having a problem because this is a legal issue that has never been resolved by our Supreme Court and naturally we don’t want to be on the losing side of history,” Santiago said. Lapid told the Inquirer he would not attend the constituent assembly if he would be by his lonesome. (With input from Inquirer News Service & Agencies)
