Election of Charter delegates deferred

MANILA, Philippines—Ensuring that Charter change would not happen before the May 2010 presidential polls, the House committee on constitutional amendments agreed to hold the election of delegates to the constitutional convention in October next year.

Gathering in another hearing Tuesday, the panel amended the date of election of constitutional convention delegates to October 25, 2010 from May 10 simultaneous with the presidential election.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) had said that the simultaneous election of
Constitution writers and elective officials would create confusion among voters.

During the hearing, the committee also agreed to give the constitutional convention members one year to finish the amendments in the Constitution. It also had a consensus that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will preside over the convention while the delegates have not yet elected a chairperson.

A delegate would be elected per congressional district as member of the convention. Sectoral representatives would also be elected to the body, but the panel has put off discussions as to what sectors would be represented and how many would be elected.

The panel also said it would appropriate budget for the convention, but has not yet decided on the amount.

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