Robin Padilla files reso amending political provisions in 1987 Constitution

Senator Robin Padilla is pushing for Charter change anew, but this time he is targeting the political provisions in the 1987 Constitution.

Padilla has filed Resolution of Both Houses No. 5 that seeks to amend Sections 4 and 7 of Article VI (Legislative Department); Section 4 of Article VII (Executive Department); and Section 8 of Article X (Local Government) of the Constitution.

Under the proposed measure, the aforementioned provisions will be amended as follows:

• Section 2 of Article. VI: The Senate shall have 54 members. Of these, 24 are elected at large and 30 elected by qualified voters from each legislative region.
• Section 4 of Article VI: Senators elected at large shall have terms of eight years, but shall not serve for more than two consecutive terms; senators elected by region shall have terms of four years, but shall not serve for more than three consecutive terms.
• Section 7 of Article VI: Members of the House of Representatives shall be elected for a term of four years, and shall not serve more than three consecutive terms.
• Section 4 of Art. VII: The President and Vice President shall be elected as joint candidates by direct vote of the people for a term of four years. They shall not be elected for more than two terms. A President who served for two terms shall not be qualified to run for any elective position. Any person who has succeeded the President or Vice President shall only be qualified for one election to the same office at any time.
• Section 8 of Article X: The term of office of elective local officials except barangay officials shall be four years. They shall serve no more than three consecutive terms.

"The change in the term of office of the President and Vice President will ensure a balance between leadership stability and democratic continuity... A joint candidacy for the President and Vice President provides for an electoral landscape that will shift its emphasis from individual personalities to the unified policy agenda and will foster a more strategic and effective governance," Padilla said in the resolution.

The following transitory provisions were also proposed under Padilla’s resolution:

• Incumbent and past Presidents are not qualified to run as president
• Incumbent senators on their last terms of office are not qualified for reelection in the next immediate election
• Incumbent members of the House on their third consecutive term of office prior to ratification shall not be eligible for reelection in the next immediate election.
• All local elective officials except barangay elective officials on their third term of office shall not be qualified to be elected for the same position in the immediate elections. The local elective officials on their first or second term of office shall be qualified to be elected to the same position in the immediate elections which shall be considered as their last term of office.
• The first elections of all officials under these amendments shall be synchronized which shall be held on the second Monday of May 2028

After concluding several hearings on the measure he filed seeking to revise the economic provisions of the constitution, Padilla, who chairs the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes, in March released a draft report but it failed to get the support of his colleagues.

This time, Padilla had hopes that his resolution would prosper in the Senate after hearing Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri reportedly spoke about being open to having more senators in the Philippines at the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum in November.

"Nagkaroon kami ng lakas ng loob i-file kasi nu'ng nagkaroon ng  Asia Pacific conference nagsalita si SP ang ganda ng sabi ni SP. Sabi niya, bukas na bukas siya na madagdagan ng senador. Kaya gusto niya maging regionalized. Kaya ako naglakas loob, sabi ko i-file na natin ‘yung panukala natin," he said.

Asked if he thinks the bill will not be "dead" in the Senate, Padilla said, "Baka hindi kasi nanggaling sa bibig ni Senate [president] (I don't think so, because of what I've heard from the Senate President)."

"Ang tagal na po nitong [resolution] na ito, di namin mai-file. Pagkatapos na hindi pirmahan ang ating committee report, ginawa  na namin itong bill na ito kaagad. Di namin mai-file dahil tinitingnan namin kung kailan medyo gaganda ang situation. Nang marinig naming si SP na magsalita sa Asia Pacific Conference sabi ko file niyo na 'yan… open siya," Padilla said.

Apart from his efforts in the Senate, Padilla said he and the PDP-Laban, whose main advocacy is changing the political system in the country into federalism, have been going around the country to push for Charter change through people's initiative.

Padilla said he also believes that amending the Constitution through people's initiative can be done in 2024, which is the year before the 2025 midterm elections, if each congressman can educate their districts about the need for Charter change.

Under Article XVII of the 1987 Constitution, Charter change can be done through:

• Congress upon a vote of three-fourth of all its members
• Constitutional convention
• People’s initiative upon a petition of at least twelve per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three per centum of the registered voters therein.

—KBK, GMA Integrated News