(Editor: Below is the opinion/commentary of lawyer Rudolf Philip Jurado on moves to amend the 1987 Constitution.)
AMENDING the economic provisions of the Constitution via Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) will assure the people (and the Senate) that political provisions, such as extending the term of elected officials or shifting to a unicameral/federal/parliamentary system, will not be included/inserted/ in the proposed amendments.
The Resolution of Both Houses of Congress No. 3 proposed and filed by Sen. Robinhood Padilla is limited only to seven economic provisions of the Constitution. It merely added the phrase “unless otherwise provided for by law” thereto. The Resolution calls for Con-Ass – not Con-Con – and for the two Houses of Congress to vote separately as it does not provide for a joint session.
Since the proposed amendments are limited only to the seven economic provisions, and there will be no joint session of the two Houses of Congress and they will vote separately, there will be no way or a chance to insert and include other amendments – unless the Senate itself is willing to include political provisions.
It is worth noting that during the 18th Congress (2019-2022), the House of Representatives passed Resolution of Both Houses No 2. This Resolution is almost identical to the Resolution of Sen. Padilla. It also sought to amend only the economic provisions of the Constitution via Con-Ass and not Con-Con. The House of Representatives passed this without conducting a joint session with the Senate – though the Senate did not act upon it when it was brought to it.
