By Christine Herrera

The House of Representatives? committee on constitutional amendments yesterday rejected a resolution that would bar Charter change before the 2010 presidential election but approved another resolution that would allow the chamber to revise the economic provisions.

The House committee, chaired by Rep. Victor Ortega of La Union, left it to the plenary to decide on the mode of amending the Charter?either through a Constituent Assembly or Constitutional Convention, or the chamber itself tackling the issue next month like passing any ordinary bills.

House Resolution 737, principally authored by Speaker Prospero Nograles and co-authored by 162 House members, sought to amend two economic provisions of the Constitution, particularly Sections 2 and 3 of Article XII of the Constitution.The plan is to allow the acquisition of lands by foreign corporations and associations and the transfer of alienable public lands and private lands.

The revision allows foreigners 100-percent ownership of land in the country, effectively scrapping the 40-percent ownership limit.

The plenary can opt for any mode of revisions, Ortega said shortly after the panel approved Nograles? resolution by a vote of 11-4.

Ortega admitted that the plenary debate could lead to more amendments such as the shift from the presidential to parliamentary system of government.

?Amending the Constitution like passing an ordinary bill is a test case,? Ortega said.

The House also has the option to pass Resolution 737 and transmit it to the Senate for approval, Ortega said.

?Also, the question of whether the House and Senate would be voting jointly or separately would be deliberated and debated upon by the plenary,? Ortega said.

The panel disapproved House Resolution 888, authored by 22 lawmakers from the House minority, by 9-4.

Despite the protest of the minority?Senior Deputy Leader Roilo Golez, Akbayan Rep. Liza Maza, Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano and Gabriela Reps. Luzviminda Ilagan and Liza Maza ?Ortega immediately put HR 737 to a vote.

Golez expressed apprehension that the approval of the resolution could lead to specific amendments on issues of term limits.

Ilagan and Mariano had no voting powers but were present as co-authors of HR 888, which was rejected earlier by the committee.

Ortega refrained from answering the questions raised by Hontiveros if the Nograles resolution could preempt all the other House bills on Chacha.

But pressed for comment, Ortega said: ?Everything is up to the plenary. Let the plenary decide when the committee report is to be submitted for debate and approval by March.?

Pangasinan Rep. Victor Aguedo Agbayani came to Ortega?s defense, saying that while HR 888 was subjected only to one hearing and consultations were limited, Charter change was constantly discussed.

?What railroading? We have been conducting hearings for more than a year now. We even asked the 238-member House to conduct surveys in their respective districts and majority of them submitted results favoring Charter change now,? Ortega said.

In that survey, majority of the constituents also favored a shift from presidential to parliamentary system of government.