Safeguards to be in place for Cha-chaSpeaker Pantaleon Alvarez assured President Duterte yesterday that restrictions will be put in place to guarantee that Congress, acting as a constituent assembly (Con-Ass), will uphold the interest of Filipinos when it revises the Constitution and includes the shift to federalism. This developed as Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman chided Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas for proposing the suspension of action on proposed legislative measures while the constituent assembly is tinkering with the Charter. If we are talking about divorce, death penalty, then what if these may all be excluded in the next Constitution?” stated Farinas. Describing the proposal as “ludicrous,” Lagman reminded Fariñas that it is his duty to push for the enactment of Malacañang’s priority legislative agenda. Fariñas told the media that Congress will have to “stop the legislative mill” in order for Congress to concentrate on “rewriting the Constitution.”“We might as well stop legislation first.

Source: Manila Bulletin August 05, 2016 14:15 UTC