Senate, House leaders ‘momentarily’ set aside differences

FILE: Senate Pres. Aquilino Pimentel III (PNA photo)

MANILA — The leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives have momentarily set aside their differences regarding legal views on how to amend the constitution, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said Thursday.

Pimentel made this statement after meeting House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, and House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas, Sr.

on Wednesday.

Instead of focusing on how the constitution is amended, Pimentel said that they agreed to prioritize a “comprehensive, consultative” review of the 1987 Constitution and the finalization of proposed constitutional amendments or revisions.

“We have decided to focus on the revisions that have to be made rather than how these changes will be effected,” said Pimentel, who revealed that the agreement was made after their dinner meeting Wednesday.

More important, he said that Congress needed to determine “exact” amendments or revisions would benefit the people.

He said that disagreements should not “distract” both Houses from making revisions to the charter that would help improve people’s lives.

Moreover, he said it was clear that a review of the Charter was “overdue” as stressed by the resource persons including legal luminaries at the Senate hearing tackling constitutional amendments.

Former Supreme Court (SC) Justice Adolfo Azcuna described the current Constitution as “the longest-running Constitution of the Philippines unamended.”

Meanwhile, former Chief Justice Reynato Puno said it was “time to give the ’87 Constitution a look over.”