Lawmaker pushes Charter change to avoid disputes caused by interpretations
House Deputy Speaker and Antipolo Rep. Ronaldo Puno reiterates during a press briefing on Aug. 12, 2025 that changing the Constitution, especially some of its words, may avoid disputes, including the use of 'forthwith' in impeachment cases. He further added that he did not want any provision to be added into the Charter that would perpetuate someone in power.
VIDEO BY RED MENDOZA
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00:00You know, this is a very historic time for our country for me.
00:05The 20th Congress is walking into a hailstorm of problems.
00:12We are walking into a number of severe disputes between the two houses of Congress.
00:22We are walking into many controversies that have been brewing over the past couple of years.
00:28And we are coming in in the aftermath of a national election that showed us, elective officials, that the minds of our people are changing.
00:42That they are becoming more vigilant about the things that happen in government.
00:49We are also walking into a period of severe division in our country.
00:54I think at no other time have we seen different groups, different political groups, so seriously aligned against one another that the national agenda is always being affected by these factors.
01:12I have talked to our members in the National Unity Party and we have come together to try to address many of the issues that we face today.
01:24And we try to address the root causes, not just the things that we see in front of us.
01:32We try to figure out why all of these things are happening.
01:36One of the things that we have found is that there are constant cases being filed in the Supreme Court, which have to do about interpretation of constitutional provisions.
01:51You know, everybody has been saying for the past 20, 30 years that the Constitution needs a lot of correction already.
01:59Because the Constitution was first drafted for a unicameral government, unicameral legislature.
02:08But towards the end of the Constitutional Convention, there was a sudden change to a bicameral legislature.
02:16However, many of the provisions in the Constitution remained as provisions for a unicameral legislature.
02:24And so this has led to a lot of problems over the many decades past.
02:29There has always been disagreement about whether votes should be joined or separate, whether the Constitution meant this or that.
02:43There are other things that have cracked up because of modern issues such as the West Philippine Sea.
02:50And our Constitution has not been flexible enough to address all of these issues.
02:54So instead of diving into the controversies that visit all of us, we believe that the best course of action is to try to attempt a solution at the root cause of this.
03:07We believe that if we correct and update our Constitution now, that many of the disputes that we see in front of us would not have been here or can be avoided in the future.
03:20Little things like the meaning of certain words, you know, always cause disagreement and confusion among everyone.
03:30So nakakahiya sa ating mga kababayan, ang lagi natin pinagawa yan ay kung anong ibig sabihin ng isang salita.
03:36Siguro naman, isa lang diksyon natin yung sinusundan natin lahat.
03:39Kung bakit napakaraming kahulugan ng isang salita na ating mapanggitin, ay hindi nila siguro naiintindihan.
03:45So para maula na lahat itong mga alinlamo na ganito, naisip namin na magpaandar na tayo ng isang Constitutional Convention.
03:56Bakit Constitutional Convention at hindi Constitutional Assembly katulad ng mga panukalang ibang mga kasama dito sa Kamara?
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