CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS will try to meet anew before the yearend to forge a common legislative agenda to include possible amendments to the Constitution, House Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte, Jr. said yesterday.
“We would like to see that the bills passed in the House, for example, will be prioritized in the Senate and vice versa,” he said on the sidelines of a ceremony for the Congressional Internship Program for Young Mindanao Leaders.
Aside from the 31 priority bills identified by the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council, leaders from the Senate and House in September added 66 measures (36 from the Senate and 30 from the House) that will be considered for the rest of the 15th Congress that ends on 2016.
“We want to make sure that bills in the advanced stages in one chamber will be given attention in the other chamber,” Mr. Belmonte said.
Amendments to the Constitution will also be discussed, Mr. Belmonte said, adding that House leaders would first want to meet with President Benigno S. C. Aquino III on the issue before proceeding with the changes.
“It is necessary for us to have a talk with the president to discuss various aspects of the proposal [to amend the Constitution],” Mr. Belmonte said, with the meeting to be held “within the year.”
Senate leaders could not be reached for comment.
The Sept. 29 meeting of Senate and House leaders resulted in the agreement to amend only the economic provisions of the Constitution, particularly on limitations to foreign ownership of certain businesses which are considered hindrances to the entry of investments. The next meeting will identify provisions that will be amended. The process will be done through a bicameral constituent assembly — both chambers voting separately — whereby charter change will undergo the “normal legislative process.”
Changes to the Constitution were proposed as early as the 1990s but these never prospered over fears that it would extending the terms of office of public officials.
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By: Noemi M. Gonzales
Source: Business World, Nov. 17, 2011
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