Opposition details alleged Cha-cha timeline
ABS-CBN News
Opposition’s Bukidnon Rep.Teofisto Guingona III on Wednesday told the House committee on justice—during its fifth hearing on the impeachment complaint against President Arroyo—of the administration’s alleged timeline in pursuing Charter change.
Even before the committee voted, 42-8, in favor of ruling that the impeachment complaint led by national broadband deal star witness Jose “Joey” De Venecia was “insufficient in substance”, Guingona said that was the first step in the Charter change moves in the lower House.
Afterwhich, Guingona said the committee decision will be brought to the plenary on December 2 for approval. The administration congressmen will supposedly fly to the U.S. the next day, December 3, to party and to watch the the internationally anticipated boxing match between Filipino Manny Pacquiao and Mexican Oscar dela Hoya.
When they return, the Charter change moves will start, Guingona said.
Some administration congressmen are big supporters of Pacquiao and have been regularly flying to the U.S. to watch his matches.
Supreme Court’s role
A resolution filed by Batangas Rep. Hermilando Mandanas postponing the 2010 elections was recently exposed to the media. House committee on constitutional amendments chair La Union Rep. Victor Ortega confirmed that the resolution was filed.
Bayan Rep. Teodoro Casino also told reporters that the plan of the administration congressmen is to present to the Supreme Court on the first quarter of 2009 the resolution callling for a joint voting of Congress as the proper procedure to convene a Constituent Assembly and amend the Constitution.
Bohol Rep. Adam Relson Jala of Lakas filed a similar petition before the High Court in September, but it was junked on the ground that it was “premature” because there was no existing conflict on Charter change that the court should resolve.
Political observers fear that the congressmen would get their way with seven vacancies in the Supreme Court next year. President Arroyo appoints the SC justices.
Ruling in favor of joint voting means that the 238-member House of Representatives can make the 23-member Senate irrelevant. It takes three-fourths votes to convene a CA. In separate voting, 179 votes from the lower House and 18 votes in the Senate are required. In joint voting, 196 votes will be required–a number that the lower House can gather even without the help of the Senators.
Defensor: No timeline
Committee chairman Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor junked the alleged timeline, however. He said that the schedule to vote on the impeachment complaint’s sufficiency in subtance was agreed upon by both parties.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, who headed the anti-impeachment panel, also noted after the hearing that the committee allowed the opposition congressmen more time to prepare for the recital of facts. Based on the original schedule, the committee was supposed to have voted on the complaint on November 21.
JDV: ‘Possible but improbable’
The only remaining option of the pro-impeachment congressmen in the lower House is to gather enough signatures among congressmen to overturn the committee decision.
It will take a one-third vote of the 238-member House of Representatives—80 votes—to overturn it.
But that’s unlikely. Administration ally-turned-critic former House Speaker Jose De Venecia Jr. himself said that the gathering 80 congressmen is “possible but improbable.”