MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Kiko Pangilinan is the new chairman of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes, replacing Sen. Robinhood Padilla.

 The announcement was made during the Senate’s plenary session on Tuesday afternoon.

For his part, Pangilinan said he would strive to uphold democratic principles and guarantee a consultative and transparent process in any proposed changes to the Philippine Constitution.

“I accept this responsibility with humility and a firm resolve to safeguard the democratic ideals enshrined in our Constitution,” Pangilinan said in a statement.

 “The Constitution belongs to the people, and any move to change it must be anchored on their aspirations and welfare. It must also undergo a thorough, principled, and participatory process,” the senator added.

Pangilinan said he would conduct a series of public consultations, which would include input from constitutional experts, civil society representatives, business groups, local government units, and ordinary citizens.

The lawyer said he is hoping that through these consultations, the public would better understand public sentiments on any possible amendments to the political and economic provisions of the Constitution, the mechanisms for amending the Charter, and the broader political and social implications of a constitutional reform.

Padilla, whom Pangilinan replaced, is rumored to head the chamber’s panel on ethics.

The change was made in light of Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III’s remarks that he would favor amending the Charter under certain conditions.

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva previously said they began talking about the reorganization after Sotto voiced that he is “entertaining the idea of supporting Charter change (Cha-cha).”

Cha-cha talks in the upper chamber resurfaced after Senate President Francis Escudero, in a tweet on Sunday, criticized Sotto for allegedly siding with members of the House of Representatives (HOR).

“Go easy. You already sided with the impeachment of the House of Representatives and Speaker Martin Romualdez even if the Supreme Court already ruled that it is unconstitutional and now you’re also favoring HOR and Speaker Romualdez’s Cha-cha?!” said Escudero then.

He ended the tweet with a hashtag that read: “The Senate is not your playground.”

Asked to comment on the Senate President’s remarks, Sotto explained why there is a possibility that he would support Cha-cha.

“What I said was, if the SC ruling stands as is and the Constitution is amended by merely a SC decision, then I will consider supporting a constituent assembly or a constitutional convention to rewrite Article XI of the Constitution because the requirements written in the SC decision [are] impossible to meet,” he told reporters in a text message.

Sotto then proceeded to lambast Escudero, rejecting the latter’s accusation that he was siding with anyone.

“I am not siding with anyone. I am with the Constitution,” he emphasized.