MANILA—Senator Aquilino ‘Koko’ Pimentel on Monday allayed the Senate employees’ fears that they will lose their jobs under the proposal to shift the form of government from presidential to federalism.
”Do not worry too much about the shift to the federal system of government as there will still be a legislature under that system,” Pimentel said in his remarks during the Senate flag-raising ceremony.
Pimentel is the president of the Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), a political party of new President Rodrigo Duterte.
Pimentel, son of former Senator Nene Pimentel Jr. who espoused federal-presidential form of government, told the Senate employees that there will be a much larger Philippine Senate under federal.
”Under federal-parliamentary espoused by other federalists, there will still be a legislative branch, the Parliament, which can absorb the current employees of the Philippine Senate,” he said.
The lawmaker from Mindanao also said each regional state will also have its own legislative branch “which can benefit from the expertise you have developed here in the Senate.”
”Hence, I repeat, there is nothing to worry about. For example, in federal presidential, let us say, there is 1 or 17 regional states and we elect 3 senators from each state, there will be 51 senators. So we will have even a larger Senate,” Pimentel said in a media interview.
Pimentel also told Senate employees that he will adopt in the Senate the advocacy of President Duterte to end the contractualization by supporting the employees union’s proposal to regularize the more than 200 casuals.
”I will support said programs as we have the same goal,” Pimentel, who is being eyed by majority of the senators to head the Senate in the upcoming 17th Congress, said.
Meanwhile, Pimentel thanked outgoing Senate President Franklin Drilon for filing resolution pushing for constitutional convention to review the 1987 Constitution that would give way for the shift of the form of government to federalism.
”I’m glad that he’s very interested in the revision of the 1987 Constitution through a Con-Con. We have the same idea,” Pimentel said.
Pimentel emphasized that the PDP-Laban and President Duterte are interested in amending the Constitution with the purpose of adopting the federal system of government.
”But I’m also aware that we cannot impose our will on the Con-Con because they are the elected delegates,” Pimentel said.