Deputy Speaker on Legal Affairs, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez wants the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments to “step on the gas” as far as its economic Charter Change discussions are concerned.“Considering the tight timeline, I call for an early approval of the amendments to these economic provisions by the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments chaired by Cong Pido Garbin so that this can be sent to the plenary of the House of Representatives,” Rodriguez said on Friday.
Rodriguez chaired the Constitutional Amendments panel up until the time that Speaker Lord Allan Velasco designated him as one of his deputy speakers late last year. “The Constitution does not require a joint session of Congress; it only requires a three-fourths vote of all members of Congress. Therefore, the House itself can convert itself into a Constituent Assembly and approve, by three-fourths vote of all its members, these amendments to the economic provisions in the Constitution,” Rodriguez said.