THE CONGRESS still has to convene on July 25, but lawmakers are already rushing bills to carry out the announced desire of President Rodrigo Duterte to review the Constitution, impose the death penalty for heinous crimes, stop labor contractualization, among other priority concerns.

Senate President Franklin Drilon has filed a joint resolution calling for a Constitutional Convention to amend or revise the charter; Sen. Panfilo Lacson a bill seeking to make terrorism, human trafficking, plunder, treason and drug-related crimes punishable by death; and a labor advocacy party-list a measure to abolish work contractualization.

Pending the passage of a more encompassing Freedom of Information law, President Duterte is reportedly set to issue an Executive Order to carry out the FOI objectives — but only in the Executive branch. During the election campaign, he promised to issue that EO on his first day in office.

As outlined by Drilon, the joint resolution calls for a Constitutional Convention, whose members will be elected on the last Monday of January 2017, to propose amendments to, or revision of, the 29-year-old Constitution.

The avowed direction of the Duterte administration is toward a federal system of government, but not enough details of the proposed structure have been announced to serve as basis for earnest discussion.

To keep the non-partisan nature of the process, the resolution provides that any member of the Congress at the time the resolution is adopted will not be qualified to be a Con-Con delegate. Also disqualified are persons who ran in the May 2016 elections.

Under Article XVII, Section 3, of the Constitution, “Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of all its members, call a constitutional convention to propose amendments to, or a revision of, the Constitution.” The Senate and the House of Representatives will vote separately.

The resolution provides that the Con-Con delegates be elected by administrative region based on the number of legislative districts in the region. The candidates will have to satisfy the same constitutional qualifications required of congressmen.

Drilon said any person holding a public office or position, elective or appointive — including members of the armed forces and personnel of government corporations or enterprises – will be considered resigned upon the filing of his/her certificate of candidacy.

These preparatory guidelines set forth in the joint resolution, especially those shielding the Con-Con from partisan politics, can start the debate in both chambers. The substance pertaining to the proposed revision or amendment can be more thoroughly discussed in the Con-Con proper.

• Du30 can ask FVR re Davao contractor

THE FIRST DOZEN words of President Duterte in his inaugural address last Thursday were: “President Fidel Ramos, sir, salamat po sa tulong mo making me president.”

When they both have time, the two presidents may also want to compare notes on businessman Reghis Romero who has been awarded the Davao City Coastline Port Development Project calling for the reclamation and development of 200 hectares of foreshore land.

The contract was approved by Mr. Duterte when he was still Davao City mayor. Now that the whole country is looking over his shoulder, some quarters are suggesting he may want to take a second look at the deal.

These businessmen, who could be Romero’s competitors, are asking: “Can Mr. Romero finish the project in three years as stipulated? Does he or his company, Mega Harbour Port and Development, have the financial capability to undertake a project with a P40-billion price tag?”

To the first question, his detractor said Romero’s track record in handling government contracts could provide the answer.

They recalled that under then President Ramos, R-II Buildings, a company of Romero, won a P6.6-billion contract to transform Smokey Mountain, the huge garbage dump site in Tondo, into a mass housing and commercial center. After more than 20 years, they noted, the project is nowhere near completion.

Given this fact, his critics concluded that Romero is not likely to complete the Davao project, which entails more complicated engineering, in the agreed three years. They asked if completion was the contractor’s intention at all or if it was to renegotiate later.

They recalled that when Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was president, Romero allegedly insisted that the National Housing Authority pay him P806 million although he had done only P211 million worth of work in the Smokey Mountain project. Sen. Miriam Santiago once called it “the most lopsided deal in Philippine history.”

On his financial capability, critics asked if Romero or Mega Harbour has P40 billion to fund the Davao project. The Smokey Mountain contract, they noted, requires Romero and R-II to raise P6.6 billion in exchange for 40 hectares of reclaimed land. He has come up reportedly with only P300 million.

Did the government sanction Romero for his alleged failure to do his end of the bargain? On the contrary, his critics pointed out, he was rewarded with 79 hectares, not 40. He has reportedly refused to hand over the property to its owner, the Home Guaranty Corp., opting instead to rent it out.

Romero’s detractors also recalled that in March 2010, his Primestate Ventures bought 4.4 hectares of land belonging to IBC 13, a government corporation, for P9,999 per square meter when land in the area was selling for P17,000 per square meter. Drilon described the deal then as “grossly disadvantageous to the government.”