Duterte wants Supreme Court to rule on constitutional provision regarding con-ass voting

January 24, 2018

President Rodrigo Duterte wants the contradicting position of the House of Representatives and the Senate on constitutional provision regarding voting on proposal to amend the Charter to be resolved by the Supreme Court, an official said on Wednesday.

In a radio interview, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said he asked Duterte of his position on the issue faced by both Houses when he talked to him on Tuesday.

"He (Duterte) said that it's true that both sides have their legal merit and demerit and this should be resolved by the Supreme Court," he said.

"So, it's clear that the president himself said that on the issue on whether joint or separate (voting), this needs to be presented to the Supreme Court because there's an interpretation that unfortunately there was error in drafting (the 1987 Constitution)," Roque said.

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has said the move to amend the Constitution through constitutional assembly could be done alone by the members of the House voting.

But some senators have said that call to change the Constitution should be done through voting separately by both Houses. Celerina Monte/DMS