Senator Panfilo Lacson expressed aversion over the move of the House of Representatives to push through with convening for Constitutional reform without involving the Senate.
In a statement, Lacson said that the House “should not allow themselves to look pathetic and worse, ridiculous.”
He cited Article XVII, Sec. 1 (Amendments or Revisions) in relation to Art VI Sec. 1 (Legislative Department) that “explicitly refers to “the Congress” as the Senate and the House of Representatives,” stressing that it only takes an ordinary individual to know that it is wrong for one chamber to exclude the other.
“Interpreting “the Congress” under Art XVII to refer to one chamber only is at best, self-serving. They pride themselves as lawyers in good standing but it only takes a layman who knows how to read and understand simple words and literature in order to appreciate what is right and wrong,” Lacson said.
He added that the House “can propose amendments or revision all they want” but the Commission on Elections, the agency assigned to lead the plebiscite, would need a budget to conduct the voting.
“Without the Senate, how can such appropriation materialize?” Lacson said.
This after Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said that the House has started tackling charter change without the Senate.
In order for the proposed amendments to proceed to the ratification stage, it would require three-fourths approval, a total that the House alone can gather, according to Alvarez.
(DAILY NEWS ROUND UP FOR 1/23/18)