PRESIDENTIAL Spokesperson Harry Roque on Friday backed the significant role of the consultative committee created by President Rodrigo Duterte, saying the inputs to be included in the proposed revised Constitution would be relevant to the country and the Filipino people.
The Palace official disagreed with former solicitor general Florin Hilbay’s statement that the Con-Com had no “constitutional value” and could be disregarded by Congress.
“Con Com inputs [are] relevant to [the] party in control of Congress that will make specific proposals to revise the Constitution,” Roque said in a statement.
He said that it (Con-Com) should be highly persuasive to Congress since it was the Party Chairman who created it.
The former solicitor general downplayed the significance of Con-Com, which Hilbay described as the “Puno Study Group,” referring to Con-Com chairman and former Supreme Court chief justice Reynato Puno.
Congress, the body that will likely convene into a constitutional assembly to revise the 1987 Constitution, is not bound to adopt the Con-Com’s proposed Charter or any of its recommendations.
According to Hilbay, Duterte’s Con-Com appeared patterned to moves of then President Ferdinand Marcos to change the 1935 Constitution.
A constitutional convention in 1971, headed by former President Diosdado Macapagal after former President Carlos Garcia died, amended the Constitution, from which Marcos drew his martial law powers.
“It follows the style of Marcos of using ‘deodorizers’ to sell Cha-Cha [Charter Change],” according to Hilbay.
So far, the Con-Com has agreed on a Charter that will give rise to a federal-presidential government system with a bicameral Congress and a provision that will regulate political dynasties.
They have up to July this year to submit their final recommendations to Duterte.
After this, the Con-Com will be dissolved.
