06 December 2005
People’s wish will prevail in final report –Con-Com
By DANNY O. SAGUN
CALASIAO – While members of the Consultative Commission may have their personal views on Constitutional changes, it is the actual pulse and sentiments of the people that will be held paramount and respected in coming out with the commission’s final report for submission to President Macapagal-Arroyo.
The seven commissioners attending last Friday’s Charter change consultation-dialogue at the Regency Hotel here thus assured their Pangasinense audience as they belied beliefs and allegations that the consultation activities were just a “formality” and that a final draft of proposed changes in the 1987 Constitution has already been prepared ahead.
Led by lawyer Raul Lambino and Dagupan City Vice-Mayor Alvin Fernandez, the Con-com members said that results of the consultations from all parts of the country that kicked off in October will all be collated to come out with a final report to be submitted to the President and later to Congress for final action.
The group first met the local media in a press conference and then held the consultations and workshop with different sectors of society to include local officials, educators, businessmen and many others.
Proposed changes in the 1987 charter include the shift of government system and structure from the present unitary-bicameral to federal-parliamentary as well as economic reforms and national patrimony.
Lambino said that he and his colleagues will not waste their time and efforts and even their resources if there was already a final draft ready for submission. He also noted that discussions over proposed changes are very lively and extensive leading to revisions or adjustments in the drafts prepared personally by the commissioners themselves.
He and Fernandez said that the draft prepared by Con-com chair Jose Abueva was treated just as “talking points” and has undergone several amendments so far as proposed by the other members.
Fernandez also bared that the process involved now is very much different from what happened in the past when the 1935, 1973 and 1987 Constitutions were pre-drafted. Now, he pointed out, people are consulted and their sentiments given due consideration.
While the Charter change could not solve the country’s problems overnight, they said that in a way such changes would bring about reforms and economic progress. They also pointed out that election of national leaders in a parliamentary government does not entail so much expense and thus prevent corruption. Under the present presidential system, a presidential candidate has to spend P4 to P5 billion to win, an expensive exercise that breeds corruption, the commissioners said.
Joining the two Pangasinense commissioners were lawyer Rita Linda Jimeno, Rey Teves, former Congressman Oscar Rodriguez, Luz Soriano, and Liberato Laus. (PIA/DOS).
CALASIAO – While members of the Consultative Commission may have their personal views on Constitutional changes, it is the actual pulse and sentiments of the people that will be held paramount and respected in coming out with the commission’s final report for submission to President Macapagal-Arroyo.
The seven commissioners attending last Friday’s Charter change consultation-dialogue at the Regency Hotel here thus assured their Pangasinense audience as they belied beliefs and allegations that the consultation activities were just a “formality” and that a final draft of proposed changes in the 1987 Constitution has already been prepared ahead.
Led by lawyer Raul Lambino and Dagupan City Vice-Mayor Alvin Fernandez, the Con-com members said that results of the consultations from all parts of the country that kicked off in October will all be collated to come out with a final report to be submitted to the President and later to Congress for final action.
The group first met the local media in a press conference and then held the consultations and workshop with different sectors of society to include local officials, educators, businessmen and many others.
Proposed changes in the 1987 charter include the shift of government system and structure from the present unitary-bicameral to federal-parliamentary as well as economic reforms and national patrimony.
Lambino said that he and his colleagues will not waste their time and efforts and even their resources if there was already a final draft ready for submission. He also noted that discussions over proposed changes are very lively and extensive leading to revisions or adjustments in the drafts prepared personally by the commissioners themselves.
He and Fernandez said that the draft prepared by Con-com chair Jose Abueva was treated just as “talking points” and has undergone several amendments so far as proposed by the other members.
Fernandez also bared that the process involved now is very much different from what happened in the past when the 1935, 1973 and 1987 Constitutions were pre-drafted. Now, he pointed out, people are consulted and their sentiments given due consideration.
While the Charter change could not solve the country’s problems overnight, they said that in a way such changes would bring about reforms and economic progress. They also pointed out that election of national leaders in a parliamentary government does not entail so much expense and thus prevent corruption. Under the present presidential system, a presidential candidate has to spend P4 to P5 billion to win, an expensive exercise that breeds corruption, the commissioners said.
Joining the two Pangasinense commissioners were lawyer Rita Linda Jimeno, Rey Teves, former Congressman Oscar Rodriguez, Luz Soriano, and Liberato Laus. (PIA/DOS).
