SPEAKER Prospero Nograles is in a bind as
congressmen belonging to his inner circle refused to sign a
draft resolution seeking to amend the Constitution via a
constituent assembly.
The resolution, authored by Kampi president
Luis Villafuerte (Camarines Sur) and which is reportedly being
pushed by Malacañang, is only 17 signatures shy of what is
said to be the constitutional requirement of 197 signatures or
three-fourth of all legislators, senators included.
Among those who have not signed the
resolution are Jesus Crispin Remulla (Lakas, Cavite), Neptali
Gonzales (Lakas, Mandaluyong) and Kahlil Abraham Mitra (NPC,
Palawan), according to a congressman from the majority bloc.
The three are not only Nograles’ senior
deputy majority leaders but are also his most trusted
lieutenants.
The source said the other congressmen who
belong to Nograles’ inner circle but who have not signed the
resolution are Rodolfo Plaza (NPC, Agusan del Sur), Justine
Marc Chipeco (NP, Laguna), Juan Edgardo Angara (LDP, Aurora),
Carol Jayne Lopez (PL, Yacap), Florencio Noel of An Waray,
Mujiv Hataman of Anak Mindanao, and Joel Villanueva of Cibac.
Villanueva last week said Nograles had to
"force" some congressmen to sign the Villafuerte resolution in
the presence of administration allies.
Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao (NPC, Isabela) said
Nograles remains under heavy pressure from Malacañang which,
he said, might call for a special session during the break for
the plenary deliberations on Charter change.
Congress goes on a month-long break
starting Friday.
"Money will be spent if they call for a
special session and I’m sure many will ask for incentives," he
said, noting that every one who signed the resolution should
be present when discussions reach the floor.
Nograles said there is no pressure from
President Arroyo for him to expedite Charter change, which the
opposition and other sectors say is a ploy to allow Arroyo to
stay in office after her term ends next year.
"There’s no such thing as ‘in a bind.’ I
just arrived with the President together with three deputy
speakers from the Asean summit in Thailand and Cha-cha was not
even talked about," he said.
Nograles said the congressmen who did not
sign the resolution "are those who made a public stand on the
issue even during JDV’s (Speaker Jose de Venecia) time and
could not turn around just like that."
"They may need time to think about it," he
said, dispelling rumors of a Palace threat to unseat him if he
fails to pull off the Cha-cha plan.
Rep. Edno Joson (Ind., Nueva Ecija) said it
is already too late to pull off Cha-cha as congressmen will be
in the thick of preparations for the 2010 elections.
Villafuerte is insisting the House can
amend the Constitution by itself once it meets the
constitutional requirement of three-fourths vote, or 197
signatories, of 261 members of Congress, which includes the 23
senators. He said the Constitution does state "House" and
"Senate" and merely states "Congress."
Villafuerte and majority leader Arthur
Defensor said while the move would not guarantee Charter
change, it would be enough to compel the Supreme Court to rule
on whether the voting on the proposed changes should be done
jointly or separately by the two chambers.
