2009 Constituent Assembly of the Republic of the Philippines

The 2009 Constituent Assembly of the Republic of the Philippines will be the joint meeting of both houses of the Congress of the Philippines which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate that will propose amendments to the Constitution of the Philippines following the passage by the House of Representatives of House Resolution No. 1109 on June 2, 2009 by viva voce in a move to shift the government from the current presidential to parliamentary. All amendments would need the approval of three-fourths of Congress.
Background
Charter Change, also known as Cha-Cha in the Philippines, refers to the political and other related processes involved in amending or revising the current 1987 Constitution of the Philippines. Under the current constitution there are three modes of which it could be amended: (PI), constituent assembly and constitutional convention. All three would lead to a referendum wherein the proposed amendment/s or revision/s has to be approved by the majority of Filipinos in order to be adopted. After winning the 2004 elections, President Arroyo by virtue of Executive Order No. 453, created the Consultative Commission headed by Dr. Jose V. Abueva. The task of the Consultative Commission was to propose the "necessary" revisions on the 1987 constitution after various consultation with different sectors of society. After about a year of consultations, the Consultative Commission came up with proposals that included: a shift to a unicameral parliamentary form of government; economic liberalization; further decentralization of national government and more empowerment of local governments via transition to a parliamentary-federal government system. While Charter change and "opening up" of the Philippine economy are generally supported by small to mid size businesses in the country such as Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), however it is opposed by the powerful Makati Business Club (MBC).

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