Philippines: Constitutional Assembly bill passed by House of Representatives

On the 14th, the House of Representatives passed House Bill No. 6 (Constitutional Assembly Bill), which stipulates detailed rules for establishing a constitutional assembly to propose constitutional amendments, with 301 votes in favor and 7 votes against. On the 6th, the House of Representatives adopted a resolution convening the Constitutional Assembly with 301 in favor, 6 against, and 1 abstaining, stating that the constitutional revision aims to revise economic provisions such as restrictions on foreign investment, and that elections for members of the assembly will be held on October 30. was
A two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress must vote to convene a constitutional convention. Many lawmakers in the Senate are concerned about revisions to political provisions, including Article 7, which limits presidential terms to one six-year term. I can’t get it,” he said. The Senate, where public hearings are currently being held by the Constitutional Amendment Committee, will be the focus of attention going forward.
The bill passed by the House of Representatives has a clear deadline. The conference committee election was held on October 30th, and the conference was convened at the Philippine International Conference Center (PICC) in Pasay City on December 1st of this year. The term of office of the committee members will be seven months from the same date until June 30, 2024. Then submit a report on the constitutional amendment within one month. A referendum will be held within 60-90 days of submission.
Regarding the total number, each media reports that it will be a large conference body with more than 300 people. According to the bill, members of the council will be elected and jointly appointed by the president, the vice president and the chairman.
Appointed members include sector representatives who make up 20% of the total. At least three retired judges, academia, and legal experts: economists, medical experts, science and technology experts, business representatives, workers’ representatives, urban poor representatives, farmers and fishermen, indigenous peoples, women, At least two will be selected from each of the youth, retiree, co-operative, elderly and disabled sectors. Other representatives shall be elected as deemed necessary by the Chairs.
Political parties and coalitions are prohibited from directly or indirectly endorsing or supporting candidates. In addition, a candidate cannot stand as a representative of a political party. A civil servant is considered to have retired from office when he stands for office. In addition, the daily allowance of the committee members is 10,000 pesos. The cost of the convocation is estimated at 9.5 billion pesos. (Tomoaki Takeshita)