‘Cha-Cha’, anyone? Philippine Congress squares off with Duterte on constitutional changes
- Proposed amendments would allow for more foreign investment in the country as it attempts to lift itself out of a coronavirus-induced slump
- But some fear the charter changes are a pretext for strengthening the hand of President Rodrigo Duterte
Members of the House of Representatives’ committee on constitutional amendments, who began deliberations on Wednesday, maintained that the proposed changes – allowing foreigners to own land and hold majority stakes in the sectors of oil and gas exploration, mining, mass media and education – are intended to lift the economy out of its coronavirus-induced slump.
In case of a constituent assembly, lawmakers could attempt to amend any provision of the constitution or the entirety of the charter, thus giving them a pathway to their ultimate aim: extending Duterte’s office term – and their own. Previous similar Cha-Cha attempts failed because of strong Senate opposition, but given the current make-up of the chamber the possibility of a constituent assembly has become a more realistic outcome.
Duterte’s allies in both chambers of Congress appear to be pushing the proposed charter changes forward. Congressman Alfredo Garbin Jnr, who chairs the House of Representatives’ committee on constitutional amendments, said Wednesday that the committee would approve a resolution, although it would be strictly confined to changing the charter’s “economic provisions”.
But he also raised the hackles of two veteran Philippine senators – Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senator Panfilo Lacson – when he announced that the deliberations of his committee already meant that “We are sitting as a constituent assembly, exercising our constituent power.”
