MANILA – Among the senators who are in favor of revisiting the Constitution is Senator Sonny Angara who said on Thursday he is open to review its political and economic provisions.
Angara, during an interview with CNN Philippines, also said he is in favor of extending the three-year term of congressmen and local officials.
"I think, three years is probably too short because parang kaka-election lang natin (we just had an elections) and then now for next year will be a pre-election year. So it's really very quick, the three years goes by very fast given that we don't have the fastest moving bureaucracy. So, if you want to have some programs implemented, three years sometimes is not... I think four or five years would be a better term of office," Angara said.
But, he emphasized the need to follow the review process, especially the consultation with the public.
"Those are the things that perhaps could be talked about and debated and we have to consult the public also as to how they feel about this issues because of course the public is always sensitive to the possibility that term limits might be lifted, things like that, or term extentions," the lawmaker said.
For Angara, the possibility of allowing a president to be re-elected is "somewhat of a very unfair in terms of power and resources" but admitted that it is an interesting topic that is worth debating.
He said it is understandable that a lot of Filipinos might lean more on giving a president just a single term because of the history.
Angara noted, however, that other countries allow their presidents to have a single re-election which also deserves to be included in the discussion.
The idea of revisiting the Constitution floated when House Speaker Martin Romualdez announced that the House of Representatives is planning to pursue discussions on Charter Change next year.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III, who is a known advocate of Federalism, also expressed his approval of the idea, saying the Constitution should really be reviewed from time to time.
Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, however, questioned the timing of the discussion, citing measures that were recently passed into law which should be given a chance to be felt before discussing Charter Change. (PNA)
