MikeLigalig.com

CJ PUNO ON CHA-CHA | Don't change Constitution in a rush, avoid Con-Ass

By: Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, InterAksyon.com
August 1, 2016 6:52 PM


Former Chief Justice Reynato Puno gestures in an interview with InterAksyon.com. BERNARD TESTA, INTERAKSYON.COM

MANILA, Philippines – If you’re in a hurry, don’t touch it. While advocating Charter change, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno gave a fair warning against hastily tinkering with the Constitution, and delegating to Congress the task through a constituent assembly.

“One fundamental rule in Constitution making is that you don’t write the Constitution in a hurry,” he said.

“If you’re in a hurry, don’t touch the Constitution,” he added.

A hybrid constitutional convention – with elected and appointed members – would be most suitable to the Philippine set-up, Puno said.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=82616.0

He added that the recommendations of the commission would be “non-binding.”

“This will not take away fears that the constituent assembly will not be an impartial body.  . . . And what the constitutional commission will do will not be binding to the assembly,” Puno said.

The former magistrate’s resistance to Con-Ass is grounded on the fact that members of Congress were not elected to make a Constitution and on a possible conflict of interest, since the Charter they would be drafting affects their political careers.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=82616.0

“Many of the members of Congress will have conflict of interest when it comes to these issues. How will they deal with these issues?” he asked.

Example: in the process of transforming the form of government to a federal form, Puno said an important facet would be the “reconfiguration of the legislative power.”

“Will they allow their term to be cut short? …How will they allocate the legislative power of the local government units as against the legislative power of the state?  Where will you tilt the balance of power?” he said.

“Whatever their judgment may be will not sit well with our people, that’s one of the biggest problems there,” Puno added.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=82616.0

“If congressman Lagman brings the matter to the Supreme Court, that would delay the work of Congress as a constituent assembly,” Puno said.

Puno said that the matter of voting separately or jointly was not settled when the 1987 Constitution was drafted.

“They rushed it,” he said. “This is the only Constitution with many phrases, ‘as may be provided by law’.”

“If we want radical changes, we need to give our full time, not only our half attention,” he said.

http://interaksyon.com/

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=82616.0