No term extensions for elected officials – JDV

The Senate and House committees on constitutional amendments "have a firm and non-negotiable agreement" that there will be no term extensions and that elections will be held in 2004 as scheduled, Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said yesterday.

In a statement, De Venecia decried the "stream of black propaganda" being employed by opponents of Charter change, who claim that amending the Constitution would lead to term extensions for elective officials.

"These attacks are designed to torpedo and denigrate this (Charter change) initiative," he said. "Term extension will kill the initiative and alienate the people."

De Venecia said President Arroyo "continues to be neutral" on the proposed Charter change, which seeks to shift the system of government from a bicameral presidential system to a unicameral parliamentary system with a committed transition to a federal system.

He added that House leaders have signed a "covenant" with civil society leaders to reject term extension and push through with the national elections next year.

House Deputy Speaker Raul Gonzales and Deputy Minority Leader Constantino Jaraula also slammed critics of Charter change.

"Anybody who injects this kind of speculation is just attempting to mislead the public or is ignorant of the agreements we arrived at in our series of interchamber consultation meetings," Gonzales said.

Jaraula, the principal author of Concurrent Resolution 16, said, "People who insist on injecting that speculation may have their ulterior motives or hidden agenda."

Concurrent Resolution 16, which seeks to convene the Senate and the House into a constituent assembly to recommend amendments to the Charter, was approved by the Lower House last March.

"When we addressed constitutional concerns, political motives became irrelevant because of the necessity for reforms," Jaraula said.

The proposed Charter amendments, he added, "are not a matter of convenience. They are a question of survival for the Republic."