October plebiscite for new Constitution ‘almost impossible,’ says Puno

It is "almost impossible" for the federal Charter to be voted upon in plebiscite this October, according to the chair of the expert panel reviewing the 1987 Constitution.

"I think that's almost impossible to have this new Constitution approved by the people by October of this year," said former chief justice Reynato Puno, head of the consultative committee (Con-com), at a Monday press briefing.

"Congress would still have to convene as a constituent assembly, and right now the Senate has not agreed to to join the lower House on a constituent assembly. Assuming the Senate agrees, that would only be the start and I suppose that will take time," he added.

The panel chair considered that the Senate possibly acting as an impeachment court — to try Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno — may also "further eat away their time."

"I really do not see how the month of October could be imagined as a date when the new Constitution has been given to the people and ratified by the people," Puno said. 

Lawmakers at the House of Representative have sought the resetting of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections slated for May in what critics have called a plan to railroad the process of amending the 1987 Constitution.

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, however, has admitted the bid to postpone the local elections anew may be too late.

He also said that holding the plebiscite in October may be difficult as Congress would tackle the 2019 national budget during that time. —KG, GMA News