Comelec ready to hold Cha-cha plebiscite after House OKs Charter amendments

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is ready to conduct a plebiscite on proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution in the event that the House of Representatives approves its economic Charter change (Cha-cha) Resolution, Comelec chair George Garcia said Monday.

Garcia gave this answer when asked if the Comelec would hold an economic Cha-cha plebiscite in the event the House approves its Resolution of Both Houses 7 which amends the 1987 Charter by lifting the 40% limit on foreign ownership of public utilities, as well as education and advertising sector, without necessarily waiting for a similar approval from the Senate.

“Siguro po, ang kakailanganin later on ay iyong kaso sa Korte Suprema…baka po dadaanan lang kami upang later on, madala ang isyu sa Korte Suprema. But again, tungkulin po ng Comelec ‘yan. Kung talagang ‘yan ay ibabato sa atin, ibibigay sa atin, hindi po namin tatalikuran iyong tungkulin na ‘yan,” Garcia told reporters at the sidelines of the Comelec chief’s Bukidnon visit for voter satellite registration and voter education for indigenous people.

(Maybe, a Supreme Court decision will be needed. Maybe, it will just pass us and the case will be brought to the Supreme Court. But the Comelec has a duty. If it is required of us, we won’t turn our backs on our mandate.)

The House of Representatives, which has over 350 members, is expected to approve RBH 7 on third and final reading this week since the House already approved the same on second reading last week.

RBH 7’s Senate counterpart, RBH 6, is yet to be even approved at the committee level.

Comelec chief Garcia conceded that ambiguity in the 1987 Constitution on how Congress should vote on proposed Charter amendments in a con-ass is hard to resolve pending a Supreme Court decision on the matter.

“Malalagay sa alanganin ang Komisyon…mailalagay sa ating balikat ang problemang ‘yan. Pag-aaralan namin ‘yan,” Garcia said.

(It really puts Comelec in a bind…it is a burden for us. We will be studying this.)

Meanwhile, House Deputy Speaker and Quezon lawmaker Jayjay Suarez earlier said  the House of Representatives is open to all options to be able to subject the proposed economic Charter change (Cha-cha) to the vote of the Filipino people via a plebiscite.

“Everything is on the table, but the best route for us is to take is to work with the Senate to lessen any legal obstacle that the RBH 6 and RBH 7 will eventually face,” Suarez said in a press conference.—RF, GMA Integrated News