President Duterte wanted to “remove” the party-list system, according to Senate President Sotto.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Thursday said that President Rodrigo Duterte didn’t want a term extension but rather an amendment to the party-list system under the 1987 Constitution.
This, amidst speculations on why charter change (Cha-cha) deliberation was being revived in the lower chamber.
In an online interview, Sotto told reporters that President Duterte wanted to solve the problem with the CPP-NPA, and the best way to solve it was to “remove the party-list system” or to “change it in the Constitution”.
“Wala siyang sinasabing term limits, extension of terms, wala siyang sinasabing no election. Mainit na mainit siya doon sa CPP-NPA issue. Ang dating sa kaniya, some members of the House of Representatives, particularly the Makabayan bloc, ay symphatizers or connected with the CPP-NPA,” Sotto said.
According to Sotto, the said meeting with the President — attended by some senators, congressmen, and high-level members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines — happened about two months ago.
Aside from the party-list provision, President Duterte also proposed amendments to several economic provisions.
READ ALSO | Senate President Sotto: Charter Change ‘Nearly Impossible’, But Charter Amendments Can Be Discussed
Sotto said that he’s disclosing what they had discussed in the meeting in order to dispel speculations that the administration wanted to open the Constitution in order to defer the upcoming 2022 elections.
After that, Sotto said that he called for a meeting with the majority of the senators in order to discuss the matter.
Sotto added that he didn’t have yet a consensus of whether the majority of the members of the Senate would be able to do it or not.
He also noted that some senators had an apprehension that other agenda may be pushed once the books had been opened.
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