Why a Constituent Assembly?

Speakers at the Bulong-Pulungan forum at Westin Philippine Plaza the other day spelled out the advantages of a Constituent Assembly as the better mode for changing the Charter. Two congressional proponents of the Con-As adequately explained why the Con-As is the more practical mode over a Constitutional Convention or People’s Initiative to adopt as it would facilitate the process of amending the Constitution, and the least expensive. These were Reps. Jerry Espina (Lone District, Biliran), who served in the 1971 Constitutional Convention and as Metro Manila Assemblymen from 1978 ˆ1984, and Antonio Eduardo Nachura (2nd District, Western Samar), who chairs the Commission on Constitutional Amendments. A representative of academia was Lourdes Sereno, a law professor at the UP College of Law who was a member of the 1999 Preparatory Commission on Constitutional Reform.

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The Con-As mode calls for the convening of the present Congress – the Senate and the House – into a Con-As, which would meet three times a week as a Con-As, and two times as the Congress. There will be no election, as what is called for by a Con-Con.

What struck the audience at Bulong-Pulungan is the savings in billions of pesos in convening a Con-As.

First, there will be no election separate from the presidential and senatorial elections – which will mean savings in hundreds of millions of pesos. Congressman Nachura said that if a Con-Con is held, two representatives from the 209 districts would be elected; that means 418 would be giving privileged speeches for days on end. So there is no telling when the Con-Con is going to end. As to the expenses, aside from spending in the election, creating a staff of at least six per delegate, the rentals of rooms and utilities and computers would cost P2-billion for just one year.

Convening the present congress into a Con-As is less expensive as it would only involve the hiring of two additional staff members, having a maintenance crew and publications and supplies for a total of P95-million a year, or less than 10 per cent of Con-Con operational expenses.

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Congressman Espina said the duration of the Con-As can be as long as six months, but that of the Con-Con may take years. The Con-As could make the amendments in the shortest possible time as its members will only introduce amendments limited to certain topics. Such topics, said Espina, will be: a shift from the presidential to mixed parliamentary system; from Unitary to Federalism; as shift from bicameral legislature to unicameral by combining the Senate and the House of Representatives into a National Assembly; the manner of electing members of the Unicameral body, and a return to a two-party system.

Two other topics will be making four years the minimum term of office of elective officials without term limits except for the President whose term should be six years without reelection and reviewing certain economic provisions particularly on land ownership, development of natural resources, telecommunications, operations of media and advertising, among others, to allow massive capital formation, promote greater productivity in industry, commerce and agriculture.

Limiting deliberations on specific topics will mean no wasting of time, said Congressman Espina.

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The amendments, said Espina, must be done before the 2004 election. And this can happen only if the mode is by Constituent Assembly. There is not enough time to pass a law calling for election of delegates and then convening them into a convention to deliberate on proposed amendments. This could go on for at least two years, and we only have about 15 months before the 2004 elections, said Espina.

As to whether the present members of Congress are mentally equipped to amend the Constitution, Espina wrote: "The present members of Congress have at least three years experience in the manner of research, debates and discussions on public governance, and who are aware of constitutional provisions that perhaps need upgrading and or improvementBecause their work, by its very nature, is based on the Constitution."

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