Q & A: Professor and Columnist Mortz Ortigoza
interviewed recently former Five-Time House of Representatives Speaker Jose de
Venecia or JDV at his palatial coastal home in Dagupan City on the acrimonious
and divisive proposed Charter-Change spearheaded by House Speaker Pantaleon
Alvarez. Alvarez was hell bent to change the centralized political landscape of
the country to federalism with a strong unicameral legislature. Here are the
thoughts of De Venecia – a rabid advocate of these political changes. EXCERPTS:
MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA: Filipinos are facing the strong arm
tactics revision of the Constitution led by Speaker Alvarez where Federalism is
dangled as the silver bullet to solve the miseries of the citizens. Do you
think Federalism can better-off the lives of the Filipinos?
VIDEO:
Joe de Venecia on Benham Rise, Charter-Change
Interviewer: Political Science Professor Mortz C. Ortigoza
JOSE DE VENECIA: When I was Speaker for five
times, I invited the Constitutional Committee to introduce a unicameral
parliamentary system for the Philippines - just one House instead of the two
Houses. So, in addition to a Unicameral Parliamentary System I was moving to a second
step to a switch to a Federal System. We were very close to achieving it for
the Filipino people until a moved was taken by the case to the High Court.
Unfortunately we lost by just one vote. Our system One- House- One Senate is
very unwieldy and it is duplicitous. The work of the House is duplicated by the
work of the Senate. The work of the Senate is duplicated by the House.
They said without the Senate there will be no check
and balance.
Check and balance is in the House. The Congress can point
to the opposition, check and balance the congressmen who belonged to the
majority. The majority, the check and balance is within the House itself just
like in South Korea. They abolished the Two- House System in Korea because the
work of the Senate duplicated the work of the House and vice versa.
Without the Senate to do the check and balance,
what can you say about Congressmen being vulnerable to the machination and
manipulation of Malacanang Palace through pork barrel and multi- million pesos
projects?
The Senate is also vulnerable. If you follow that
line, the Senate is vulnerable. The importance we considered is the members of
Congress must be responsible members. They must be responsible parliamentary
leaders of the Philippines.
In case the bid for Charter Change succeed, if we
have Federalism do you think it can jack up the lives of the Filipinos say per
capita income versus Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia?
Yes, a unicameral-parliamentary-federal system will
register a major boost to the Philippines, a major boost to a system of good
government, a major boost to the advocacy of the interest of the Filipino
people because legislation will be more explicit. The bottleneck of duplicity
will be abolished and (inaudible) and simplified the legislation and avoid
inefficiency and duplicity, wastage of time, and resources. And time-table will
be instituted and project cannot be delayed and programs are acted
expeditiously.
But the spark plug and catalyst to better off the
lives of the Filipinos are snaring more foreign and local investors. We don’t
have to change the Constitution; Congress can just change the Public Service
Acts where business utilities that call for 60-40 percent in favor of the
Filipino businessmen in the Economic Provisions of the Constitution can be
changed to 100 percent foreign and local ownership to draw more investments in
our shore.
That’s another plus. That’s another favoring factor
when we are able to bring in expeditiously foreign investment in the country.
Again, that may connect in the bills even on the maximum significant of the
business. They should be expeditious as I said where we have one House - the
Administrative Assembly, One- House Parliament.
May dilemma in Federalism is the regions. In the
present situation, 60 percent of the taxes are sent to Imperial Manila while 40
percent of the taxes are given back to the provinces, cities, and towns through
Internal Revenue Allotment, incase Federalism is established, those poor
provinces like Maguindanao, Zamboanga Peninsula, Abra, Kalinga-Apayao, Samar,
Leyte, and others will feed for themselves. They have to pay for their
policeman whose lowest rank is paid by the national government by P38, 000
monthly, lowest rank teacher received P22, 000 monthly from the national
government, and other workers that used to receive pay from the national
government. Where would these provinces or regions get the monies?
You know restriction of the government. There are only
significant guarantors with one to insure the small (government units) with
less potential to generate their own self-sufficiency. They will be funded by
the government.
EDITOR RUBEN RIVERA: Section 1 of Article 17 of the
Constitution said “Any amendment to, or revision of, the Constitution may be
proposed by: The Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Members”. It
should be voting separately.
Ideally, ideally, ideally. There should be joint convocation
of the Constituent Assembly and the Senate and the House converges as one
Assembly to consider constitutional amendment. Question! How do they vote?
MCO: Iyan, iyan ang problema!
They cannot live to vote jointly. It’s a question of
the Senate to agree and the House to agree to vote jointly. They cannot agree
they can say they vote probably they should vote jointly. They should act as
statesmen, they should act as Filipino acting in concert, acting with the
highest interest to the Filipino people as their main interest and not their
selfish, imperfect, regional, or partisan views, but behave like how the
interest (of the country) of how they should vote jointly.
Some senators said they will not vote jointly
because Congress is a bicameral body where even a mere naming of a town or a
change of the name of the public high school need the legislative acts of
both Houses. Pag nag join kasi sa Constituent Assembly matutunaw iyong 22 na
senators versus sa 294 na mga congressmen.
That can happen. Also it can be exaggerated.
Congressmen are great patriotic Filipino. There are great patriotic Filipinos.
So, let’s not demean the congressmen with the bid of the senators. Both are
acting in the interest of the Filipino people. So, ideally the Constituent
Assembly can be constituted by the Senate and Congress (by) voting jointly.
EDITOR RIVERA: (Chuckled)
If they cannot agree, they can vote separately!
EDITOR RIVERA: (Chuckled)
When the bill approved by the House another bill
approved by the Senate, then it goes to the Conference Committee.
Bicameral Committee
Bicameral.. to resolve the recurring views of the
Senators and the House. These are the … you know the Constitution provide specific
reasons or alternatives, or recourses in the event of a deadlock between the
Senate and the House
READ:
(You can read my selected columns at mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and
articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too at
totomortz@yahoo.com)
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