Any constitutional amendment must be for the good of the people
Credit to Author: THE MANILA TIMES| Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2020 02:38:16 +0000
SEN. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go said that he would only support constitutional amendments if these changes are for the good of the Filipino people.
“The Constitution is for the people by the people. Para po sa akin, kung ano ang makabenepisyo sa Pilipino (susuportahan ko), pero ‘pag maamoy na namin na ang makikinabang dito ay mga politiko, hindi po kami sasali. Hindi po kami papayag (For me, I will support anything that is beneficial to the Filipinos, but if we sense that the politicians will be the ones who will benefit, we will not participate. We will not agree [to it]),” Go said in an interview.
“Makikita mo naman ‘yun kung bakit bubuksan ang Constitution, kung makikinabang ang mga politiko, lalong lalo na ang mga graduating lawmakers natin. Pangit ’yun. Mabahong style ‘yun(You will see it anyway, why they want to open the Constitution, if the politicians will benefit from it, especially our graduating lawmakers. That’s ugly. That is unacceptable),” the senator added.
The House Committee on Constitutional Amendments approved in December 2019 a resolution that seeks to amend parts of the 1987 Constitution, but the Committee recalled the resolution recently to consider the proposals of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Federalism and Constitutional Reform, which was established by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2018 and composed of the heads of eleven agencies with the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government as chairman.
The House Committee will also re-open its public hearings on the proposed constitutional amendments and is considering creating a constituent assembly to tackle the matter. “Hindi pa po nakakarating sa amin ang kanilang proposal. Once we receive it, bubusisihin namin ito nang mabuti kung nakatutok ba ito sa kapakanan ng bawat Pilipino(Their proposal has not reach us yet . Once we receive it, we will scrutinize it thoroughly to [determine] if this is for the welfare of the Filipinos),” he said.
Go added that when it comes to issues about the Constitution, efforts should also be exerted to educate the people about any proposed changes, including the shift to a federal form of government.
He stressed that if any constitutional amendment will prosper in Congress, it is important that stakeholders especially ordinary Filipinos who will be affected are first informed, consulted and educated on how these policies will impact their lives. Javier Joe Ismael