HIGHLIGHTS OF THE RESOLUTION OF BOTH HOUSES TO CONSTITUTE

THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES INTO A

CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY TO PROPOSE REVISIONS OF THE 1987
CONSTITUTION BY ADOPTING A FEDERAL FORM OF GOVERNMENT

Introduced by The Honorable Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales, Jr.

and The Honorable Eugene Michael B. De Vera

 The authors of this Resolution of Both Houses believe that revisions of the 1987
Constitution through a Constituent Assembly is only proper because:

(1) This mode (constituent assembly) is the default mode envisioned by the
framers of the 1987 Constitution considering that it is simpler yet more
difficult and exacting – it requires the votes of at least 18 Senators and at least
223 Representatives, based on the present membership of the Senate and the
House. A resolution calling for a constitutional convention requires only the
votes of 16 Senators and 168 Representatives.

(2) The Congress is called to perform constituent, legislative, and oversight

functions. Proposing a revision of the Constitution by the Congress is a
constituent function. It is a constitutional duty that must be performed.

(3) The Senators were elected at large and the Representatives were elected by
the people of their respective districts and party-list/sectoral groups. It is thus
in the spirit of representative democracy for the Congress to propose revisions
of the Constitution since they represent the voices of the sovereign Filipino
people from across all the regions and sectors of the country.

(4) Revision through a Constituent Assembly is more expeditious than a

constitutional convention because it can readily constitute itself for that
purpose;

(5) A Constituent Assembly is less costly as it can propose the revisions using the
funds allocated to the Legislative Branch, compared to a constitutional
convention which will entail an additional appropriation of more or less PhP
8 Billion;

(6) The present members of the Senate and the House include top-notch lawyers,
doctors, accountants, engineers, educators and other professionals in various
fields and professions as well as advocates in the marginalized sectors – they
are very capable of undertaking the revisions;

(7) In this era, mass and social media serve as deterrents against politicians who
are only motivated by self-interests. In this regard, to preclude the
insinuations that Members of the present Congress will only be motivated by
self-interests, the authors have prepared a working draft of the “Proposed
Constitution of the Federal Republic of the Philippines.”

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 Some of the salient features of the working draft of the proposed revisions of the
Constitution are the following:

(1) Redefining the national territory – we clarify that our sovereignty over the
territorial sea as well as the rights, jurisdiction and duties over the exclusive
economic zone shall be exercised subject to the UNCLOS and other rules of
international law. This will further strengthen our claim over the disputed
islands in South China Sea.

(2) Division of the Federal Republic of the Philippines into 18 Regions – we

are adopting the present division of the country into 18 regions, namely; (1)
National Capital Region; (2) Ilocos Region; (3) Cordillera Region; (4)
Cagayan Valley Region; (5) Central Luzon Region; (6) Calabarzon Region;
(7) Mimaropa Region; (8) Bicol Region; (9) Western Visayas Region; (10)
Negros Island Region; (11) Central Visayas Region; (12) Eastern Visayas
Region; (13) Zamboanga Peninsula Region; (14) Northern Mindanao Region;
(15) Davao Region; (16) Soccksargen Region; (17) Caraga Region; and (18)
Bangsamoro Region, which will replace the present ARMM.

In so dividing the country into Regions (rather than States), we declare as

principles the following:

a. The Philippines is an indivisible, democratic, republican and federal state.

b. The Filipino people and the 18 Regions form the Federal State.

c. The Regions comprising the Federal State are autonomous, equal and
sovereign except to the extent that their sovereignty is limited by the
Constitution and federal laws.

d. Each Region will be governed by its own basic or organic law that the
people of their Region through their elected officials will have to craft
consistent with the Constitution.

e. Each Region may exercise all state powers and discharge state functions,
provided that federal laws take precedence over regional laws.

f. The Federal State abhors any act of terrorism.

g. The Federal State is committed to the long term preservation of natural

resources and to a just and peaceful international order.

h. The Federal State and all its Regions shall be a drug-free country.

i. The promotion of sustainable development, internal cohesion and cultural

diversity of the country is also essential for the enjoyment by all the
Filipino people of the blessing of democracy.

(3) Free Movement in the Bill of Rights – we have included the right of

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 Filipinos to move freely throughout the Federal State, from one Region to
another.

(4) Retention of the Bicameral Legislature – we have studied the Constitutions

of other 21 federal countries (like Austria, Brazil, Germany, India, Mexico,
Russia, Switzerland and the US) and found out that all have bicameral federal
legislatures. It is interesting to note that Germany, after the cold war and the
dismantling of the Berlin wall, is now considered as the No. 1 Best Country
in the World using the “Quality of Life” as one of the criteria. We should use
Germany as a benchmark. (Note: Refer to matrix of federal states)

Thus, we are proposing the following for the Legislative Branch:

a. The Senate should be composed of at least 2 up to a maximum 6 Senators

from each Region. Initially, each Region will be entitled to have 2
Senators. A region with more than 5 million, 6 million, 7 million and 8
million population will have an additional of 1, 2, 3, and 4 Senators,
respectively. Using this formula, NCR, Calabarzon (Region IV-A) and
Central Luzon (Region III) will be entitled to have 6 Senators each. This
is doable given the present distribution of population in each of the 18
Regions. (Note: Refer to matrix of regions).

b. Senators will be elected at large by the people of the Region that they will
be representing. We hope then that Senators will establish their residence
in the Region and contribute to the economic activities in that Region.

c. The Federal Congress shall have exclusive jurisdiction and authority to

legislate on areas concerning national security and defense, declaration of
war, foreign relations, foreign trade, customs and quarantine, federal
currency, fiscal and monetary system, taxation, budget and audit,
immigration, inter-regional commerce and trade, federal public works and
infrastructure, federal postal and telecommunications, federal air, sea and
land transportation, intellectual property rights, federal census and
statistics, federal loans, federal penal system and other national concerns.
The Regional Legislature (called the Regional Assembly) will be
authorized to legislate on concerns that are not exclusively granted to the
Federal Congress. With this, we are hoping that regional governments
will be more focused on their economic development using their own
competencies and competitive capabilities and be more active in creating
jobs and opportunities to attract more people to stay in their Regions.

(5) For the Judicial Branch, we are proposing that in every Region, there shall
be a Regional Court of Appeals and a Sandiganbayan in order to facilitate
the adjudication of cases.

(6) For the Constitutional Commissions, we are proposing the following:

(a) The Commission on Human Rights will be elevated to the status of an

independent Constitutional Commission.

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 (b) In each Region, a Commissioner of the Civil Service Commission will be
assigned who shall have the power to adjudicate civil service related cases
and issues. The decision of the Commissioner will be appealable directly
to the Regional Court of Appeals.

(c) In each Region, a Commissioner of the Commission on Elections will be

assigned who shall have the power to adjudicate election related cases and
issues. The decision of the Commissioner shall be final and appealable
directly to the Regional Court of Appeals.

(d) In each Region, a Commissioner of the Commission on Audit will be

assigned who shall have the power to adjudicate accounting and auditing
related cases and issues. The decision of the Commissioner shall be final
and appealable directly to the Regional Court of Appeals.

(e) The Commissions will be required to meet in banc to promulgate rules

and regulations pursuant to their rule-making powers.

(7) Territorial and political subdivisions - we propose that the political

subdivisions of the Federal Republic of the Philippines shall be as follows:
(1)Regions; (2) Local Government Units, comprising of provinces, cities,
municipalities and barangays.

We propose that we maintain the territorial subdivisions of the existing 18

Regions, with modifications in the case of the Bangsamoro. We use the
territorial boundaries for the Bangsamoro Region in the BBL proposal of the
16th Congress.

(8) Regional Executive Power – in our proposal, regional executive power shall
be vested in the Regional Governor, who shall be elected by direct vote of the
people in all the LGUs comprising the Region. He shall execute the federal
laws and laws passed by the Regional Legislature called the Regional
Assembly.

(9) Regional Assembly – All regions shall have a unicameral legislature.

Membership of the Assembly shall be composed of 3 Assembly Members
from each province/highly-urbanized/independent city. The Assembly
Members are nominated by the local legislative body from among the elective
local officials. The appointment shall be made by the Regional Governor.
The Regional Vice-Governor shall be the presiding officer of the Regional
Assembly.

(10) LGUs shall still be governed by the Local Government Code of 1991. We
adopt the formula used by Senator Pimentel in his earlier proposal as to the
sharing of all revenues and taxes collected by the LGUs or by the agencies of
the Federal Government, as follows: 20% shall accrue to the Federal
Government; and 80% shall accrue to the Regions. Of the share accruing to
the Regions, 30% shall pertain to the Region concerned and 70% shall be

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 apportioned among the provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays
according to the formula stated in the Local Government Code.

(11) We have also made revisions on some of the economic provisions, such as:

a. Possible allowance of private corporations/associations to hold alienable

lands for a period longer than 25 years through a Regional law to be
passed by the Regional Legislature (which may also be reviewed and
regulated by the Federal Congress)

b. Possible transfer or conveyance to foreign individuals, corporations or

associations through a Regional law (which may also be reviewed and
regulated by the Federal Congress)

c. Possible allowance of foreign corporations to own certain areas of

investments, public utilities, mass media and advertising industry in order
to attract foreign investors through a Federal law (Note: This is not a
permanent policy that should be included in the Constitution. If foreign
ownership is abused, the federal law may easily be repealed by an act of
Congress).

d. Central monetary authority (Monetary Board) will have representatives

from each of the 12 Regions

(12) Further revision of the Constitution – we include provisions that: (1)

no amendment or procedure shall be commenced or continued where the
integrity of the national territory is placed in jeopardy; (2) the republican form
of government shall not be the object of any amendment. The French
Constitution has this same feature to protect its territorial integrity and
preserve democracy.

 We are hoping that the adoption of our proposed revisions of the 1987
Constitution, the “Quality of Life” of Filipinos in all of the 18 Regions will be
improved as the Germans did after the cold war and the fall of the Berlin wall.

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