DUMAGUETE CITY — Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo, a staunch supporter of federalism – along with Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo – is offering another mode to revise the 1987 Constitution in the event Congress junks the draft constitution of the Constitutional Committee (ConCom).
It is the personal feeling of the mayor that there would a conflict of interest among members of Congress.
Remollo said Tuesday afternoon that some congressmen may “differ in opinions regarding the anti-dynasty provision, including the sharing scheme, that is why the third mode would be the conduct of a People’s Initiative (PI).”
He told members of the ConCom during Monday’s launch of regional consultations here that it can adopt en toto the finished product “crafted not only by brilliant minds but also patriotic and experienced individuals who compose the committee.”
Under the People’s Initiative, only three percent of the voting population of each district and 12 percent of the total national voting population is required to initiate a petition adopting en toto the finished product, the mayor said.
As a lawyer, Remollo believes the Commission on Elections cannot ignore this and this would be addressed directly.
In the event of a stalemate as a result of personal private interests, the People’s Initiative can break the impasse so that the matter will be brought directly to the people through a plebiscite that will already cause the amendment of the Constitution and eventual approval.
Remollo further believes that the work of Congress will no longer have any effect for as long as the people will decide on the Constitution through PI.
He is sure the matter will be brought to the Supreme Court, and if this happens, it will now be a political decision like in many cases in the past, when the Supreme Court would shun deciding political issues because of the basic rule that the voice of the people is the supreme law.
Meanwhile, according to members of the ConCom, “we are just technicians, we are just making a draft that will be the basis for the work of Congress,” adding that “If Congress gets our draft and throws it immediately into the waste basket, that is not our problem.”
The ConCom members told Dumaguete media in a briefing during their visit to the city that they are here to show what they have done so far; and have no worries at all about what will happen to the draft Constitution.
“It depends on the lawmakers and we’re not lawmakers,” they said. (Juancho Gallarde/PNA)
