An ally of President Duterte is seeking to convene the House of Representatives and the Senate into a Constituent Assembly to amend the 1987 Constitution.
Negros Occidental Rep. Albee Benitez has filed a joint resolution urging both houses of Congress to convene into a Con-Ass to “introduce revisions and/or amendments to the Constitution.”
“The resolution proposes convening the Philippine Congress into a Constituent Assembly to introduce and adopt revisions and/or amendments to the Constitution as it is the most expeditious and less costly than other modes of Charter change,” Benitez said.
Benitez filed the resolution as incoming House Speaker Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez filed Resolution of Both Houses No. 1, calling on Congress to convene a constitutional convention to change the form of government from republican to federalism. “The Constitution is the fundamental law of the land and should therefore be responsive to the changing needs of the country and its citizens,” Benitez said.
“There have been clamor for change in the system of government, shift to a federal form of government, provision of more autonomy and empowerment of the local government, less restrictive economic policies, and other proposals that necessitate changes in the present Constitution,” he said. (Charissa M. Luci)
