SENATOR Robinhood “Robin” C. Padilla on Monday filed a resolution calling for a Constitutional Convention to amend provisions of the 1987 Constitution, to dispel fears that this would advance the interests of only a few.
In Resolution of Both Houses 8, Padilla – who chairs the Senate committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes – said this would be a “participatory and democratic” way of revising the Constitution.
“To dispel any doubt that a proposed revision to the 1987 Constitution would only advance the interests of a few, a Constitutional Convention is deemed to be the more appropriate mode of doing said revision,” he said.
In his resolution, members of the Senate and House of Representatives are to vote separately in calling for a Constitutional Convention. A vote of two-thirds of each House voting separately is needed for this.
Also, Padilla’s resolution called on Congress to “enact an enabling legislation that will embody all details relative to the convening of the Constitutional Convention.”
Padilla noted that in a Constitutional Convention, the revision would be participatory since the delegates are elected by the people, and “are more likely be a more diverse and representative body.”
He also cited a position paper by the faculty members of the University of the Philippines’ Department of Political Science faculty noted a Con-Con encourages more participation and likely promotes diversity of views.
Likewise, he said the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform (IPER) noted that the members of a Con-Con, will be “more focused” and the process will be “democratic, transparent, and deliberative.”
Earlier, Padilla also noted he will seek the help of former secretaries Romulo Neri (NEDA) and Margarito Teves (DOF) to lower the costs of holding a Con-Con.
