CONSULTATIVE committee Chairman Reynato S. Puno said on Thursday that the committee is proposing the creation of a 10-member Transition Commission headed by President Duterte in a bid to transition toward federal government by 2022.
“The Transition Commission shall have the power to formulate and to draft a transition plan for the orderly shift to a new system of government as provided for in the new constitution,” Puno said in a speech on the First National Forum and Public Consultation.
The proposal is different from what the President has repeatedly said in past speeches, that he does not want to take part in the transition to a federal government and vowed that he will not extend his term.
Although Puno is aware of the President’s apprehension to take part in the transition, he told the BusinessMirror the commission decided to propose making the President chairman of the Transition Commission as “he is the best person to do it.”
Puno, however, was quick to note that the Transition Commission shall be composed of members who are experts in the fields of economy, law, fiscal management, governance or development. They will not be appointed by the President but by a five-member search committee to be headed by the Civil Service Commission. The members of the search committee shall be formed by members of academe, business and the marginalized sector, and the women sector.
The Transition Commission shall also craft the necessary rules and promulgations, decrees, proclamations and other issuances and all acts to implement the transition plan. It shall also organize, reorganize and fully establish the federal government and the governments of the federated regions in accordance with the Constitution, he added.
When it comes to the organization of the new government, especially in the selection of the new appointees, Puno said the Transition Commission shall also ensure people’s participation by involving faith-based civil society, indigenous people, sectoral or nongovernment and other community-based organizations.
All the living past presidents shall also be consulted by the Transition Commission, according to Puno.
“The inputs of our living presidents are of utmost value, but more than that, all of them together will symbolize our unity and our harmony and this is a new beginning,” he said.
Asked if this might hinder the shift to federalism, Puno told the BusinessMirror: “No…because [if] they don’t want to participate, that is their prerogative.”
He also noted that they had previously thought of putting all the living past presidents in one special group. “But we see also that there might be clashes of opinion, so that became the compromise—that they may be consulted,” he said.
No term extension
Puno also reiterated there will be no term extension for all incumbent elected officials once the new charter is adopted, as feared by some quarters.
He added that the committee specifically provided, under the transitory provisions of the proposed draft federal constitution, that the terms of the president and vice president shall end on June 30, 2022, the same date that the Transition Commission must complete its work.
On the sidelines of the forum, Puno said this transitory provision of “no term extension” under the new charter will also cover those who will win the 2019 elections.
Asked what will happen to those elected for a six-year term by 2019, he said: “[Candidates] have to take that chance.”
30-year transition
Meanwhile, former senator and 1971 Constitutional Convention delegate Heherson Alvarez wondered aloud, in a speech during the forum, if the transition to federalism will be finished in 30 years.
“How is the transition going to be achieved? It would be a very challenging question,” Alvarez said. “They say we can achieve it in a short span of time. Can you build that political culture in just a short span of time?”
Sought for comment, Puno told the BusinessMirror in a text message that the transition to shift to federalism by 2022 “depends on the competence of the Transition Commission.” “If they are real experts and use the proper people, it can be done,” he said.
He also noted that the committee has proposed the first national, regional and local election under the new constitution to be held without postponement on the second Monday of May 2022.
The committee is already 100-percent done with its proposed draft federal constitution and is now subjecting it to final review for each provision. The final en banc vote for the entire draft is scheduled on June 28.
The consultative committee targets to submit the draft to the President on or before July 9, the committee’s self-imposed deadline. This is to give the President time to review the proposed constitution before his State of the Nation Address on July 23.