CHA-CHA: One - House, One - Senate are Unwieldy, Duplicitous – JDV

Former Five-Time House Speaker Joe de
Venecia and Political Commentator Mortz
C. Ortigoza.

Q & A: Professor and Columnist Mortz Ortigoza interviewed recently former Five-Time House of Representatives Speaker Jose de Venecia or JDV at his palatial coastal home in Dagupan City on the acrimonious and divisive proposed Charter-Change spearheaded by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez. Alvarez was hell bent to change the centralized political landscape of the country to federalism with a strong unicameral legislative body. Here are the thoughts of De Venecia – a rabid advocate of these political changes. EXCERPTS:

MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA: Filipinos are facing the strong arm tactics revision of the Constitution led by Speaker Alvarez where Federalism is dangled as the silver bullet to solve the miseries of the citizens. Do you think Federalism can better-off the lives of the Filipinos?

JOSE DE VENECIA: When I was Speaker for five times, I invited the Constitutional Committee to introduce a unicameral parliamentary system for the Philippines - just one House instead of the two Houses. So, in addition to a Unicameral Parliamentary System I was moving to a second step to a switch to a Federal System. We were very close to achieving it for the Filipino people until a moved was taken by the case to the High Court. Unfortunately we lost by just one vote. Our system One- House- One Senate is very unwieldy and it is duplicitous. The work of the House is duplicated by the work of the Senate. The work of the Senate is duplicated by the House.

 They said without the Senate there will be no check and balance.

 Check and balance is in the House. The Congress can point to the opposition, check and balance the congressmen who belonged to the majority. The majority, the check and balance is within the House itself just like in South Korea. They abolished the Two- House System in Korea because the work of the Senate duplicated the work of the House and vice versa.

 Without the Senate to do the check and balance, what can you say about Congressmen being vulnerable to the machination and manipulation of Malacanang Palace through pork barrel and multi- million pesos projects?

 The Senate is also vulnerable. If you follow that line, the Senate is vulnerable. The importance we considered is the members of Congress must be responsible members. They must be responsible parliamentary leaders of the Philippines.

VIDEO:

Joe de Venecia on Benham Rise, Charter-Change

Interviewer: Political Science Professor Mortz C. Ortigoza

 In case the bid for Charter Change succeed, if we have Federalism do you think it can jack up the lives of the Filipinos say per capita income versus Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia?

  

 Yes, a unicameral-parliamentary-federal system will register a major boost to the Philippines, a major boost to a system of good government, a major boost to the advocacy of the interest of the Filipino people because legislation will be more explicit. The bottleneck of duplicity will be abolished and (inaudible) and simplified the legislation and avoid inefficiency and duplicity, wastage of time, and resources. And time-table will be instituted and project cannot be delayed and programs are acted expeditiously.

 But the spark plug and catalyst to better off the lives of the Filipinos are snaring more foreign and local investors. We don’t have to change the Constitution; Congress can just change the Public Service Acts where business utilities that call for 60-40 percent in favor of the Filipino businessmen in the Economic Provisions of the Constitution can be changed to 100 percent foreign and local ownership to draw more investments in our shore.

 That’s another plus. That’s another favoring factor when we are able to bring in expeditiously foreign investment in the country. Again, that may connect in the bills even on the maximum significant of the business. They should be expeditious as I said where we have one House - the Administrative Assembly, One- House Parliament.

 May dilemma in Federalism is the regions. In the present situation, 60 percent of the taxes are sent to Imperial Manila while 40 percent of the taxes are given back to the provinces, cities, and towns through Internal Revenue Allotment, incase Federalism is established, those poor provinces like Maguindanao, Zamboanga Peninsula, Abra, Kalinga-Apayao, Samar, Leyte, and others will feed for themselves. They have to pay for their policeman whose lowest rank is paid by the national government by P38, 000 monthly, lowest rank teacher received P22, 000 monthly from the national government, and other workers that used to receive pay from the national government. Where would these provinces or regions get the monies?

 You know restriction of the government. There are only significant guarantors with one to insure the small (government units) with less potential to generate their own self-sufficiency. They will be funded by the government.

EDITOR RUBEN RIVERA: Section 1 of Article 17 of the Constitution said “Any amendment to, or revision of, the Constitution may be proposed by: The Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Members”. It should be voting separately.

Ideally, ideally, ideally. There should be joint convocation of the Constituent Assembly and the Senate and the House converges as one Assembly to consider constitutional amendment. Question! How do they vote?

MCO: Iyan, iyan ang problema!

 They cannot live to vote jointly. It’s a question of the Senate to agree and the House to agree to vote jointly. They cannot agree they can say they vote probably they should vote jointly. They should act as statesmen, they should act as Filipino acting in concert, acting with the highest interest to the Filipino people as their main interest and not their selfish, imperfect, regional, or partisan views, but behave like how the interest (of the country) of how they should vote jointly.

 Some senators said they will not vote jointly because Congress is a bicameral body where even a mere naming of a town or a change of the name of the public high school need  the legislative acts of both Houses. Pag nag join kasi sa Constituent Assembly matutunaw iyong 22 na senators versus sa 294 na mga congressmen.

 That can happen. Also it can be exaggerated. Congressmen are great patriotic Filipino. There are great patriotic Filipinos. So, let’s not demean the congressmen with the bid of the senators. Both are acting in the interest of the Filipino people. So, ideally the Constituent Assembly can be constituted by the Senate and Congress (by) voting jointly.

EDITOR RIVERA: (Chuckled)

 If they cannot agree, they can vote separately!

EDITOR RIVERA: (Chuckled)

 When the bill approved by the House another bill approved by the Senate, then it goes to the Conference Committee.

 Bicameral Committee

 Bicameral.. to resolve the recurring views of the Senators and the House. These are the … you know the Constitution provide specific reasons or alternatives, or recourses in the event of a deadlock between the Senate and the House.

READ:  

What Charter Change? Just change the PSA to Draw Investors

(You can read my selected columns at mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too at totomortz@yahoo.com)