President Duterte’s consultative committee on Charter change (Cha-cha) is targeting to submit the final draft of the federal constitution, which is targeted to be “distinctly Filipino,” on July 19, or days before the Chief Executive’s State of the Nation Address on July 24.
Retired Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno, the panel’s head, told reporters after the committee’s first en banc session, at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City, the federal setup should be distinctly Filipino as there is “no model that will perfectly fit the Philippines.” He thus urged the 18 other committee members “not to plagiarize any federal model.”
“If we are to have a homogenous position, it is that we should not plagiarize any federal model, for our model should be distinctly Filipino, as it cannot be impassive to our past and indifferent to the present,” Puno said.
Puno also emphasized that the country would need a “cooperative” federalism and not “competitive” federalism, as not all regions would be ready to “take full steps” toward the shift in the form of government.
Puno’s committee also distributed assignments on Monday. The panel already requested the President to appoint experts from the field of economics, foreign relations and military.
“The additional woman-members may come from these fields of expertise,” he said, noting that he reiterated this request to the Executive Secretary on Monday morning, and that he was told that the appointments are forthcoming.
Constitutional member and former Senate President Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. also pointed out that six other members of the committee should come from the women’s sector and indigenous people’s groups.
Duterte chose 19 people from different areas for the consultative committee to review the Constitution as part of the administration’s Cha-cha push as a buildup to a shift to a federal type of government from a unitary one.
Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea urged the committee to ensure that the new Constitution would reflect the will of the people.
Asked on whether this draft would be presented to the people, Puno said they will, and “we should be able to convince them that this is our best proposition for them and that we have to take into account the opposition to this proposed Constitution.”
The country’s largest business group, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), decried the lack of “voice from the business sector” in the review of the Constitution. In an earlier interview with the BusinessMirror, PCCI Chairman George T. Barcelon expressed concern that the committee filled with lawyers might focus on political changes rather than economic reforms.
But lawyer Susan U. Ordinario, the lone female member of the consultative committee, said all provisions related to business and investments will be reviewed.
Last December Duterte signed Executive Order 10, which created the consultative committee under the Office of the President. The committee is mandated to “study, conduct consultations and review the provisions of the 1987 Constitution including, but not limited to, the provisions on the structure and powers of the government, local governance and economic policies.”