THE Charter change (Cha-cha) pressure is now on the Senate as the House of Representatives is poised to approve today proposed Resolution of Both Houses No. 7 (RBH No. 7) which seeks to revise restrictive economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.
Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales of Pampanga said the ball will be in the “Senate’s court” once the House plenary approves RBH No.7 on second reading today and vote on it on third and final reading next week week before Congress goes on a Lenten break.
“I’m very positive kay Sen. Migz (I’m very positive that Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri) and other senators na maipasa na rin nila iyon RBH 6 (Resolution of Both Houses No. 6) (will be able to pass RBH No. 6),” Gonzales told a press conference.
“Hindi po namin sila pini-pressure, nasa kanila ‘yung bola (We’re not pressuring them, but the ball is in their court),” he added.
The House, which has started plenary deliberations on RBH No. 7 on Monday, will try to put the measure to a vote today for passage on second reading so that there will be enough time to proceed to the period of amendments next week before voting on it for approval on third and final reading.
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte earlier said there is still a “good chance” for the Senate to pass RBH No. 6, its version of the Cha-cha resolution, even if it is still being deliberated upon by a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments led by Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, who earlier said the deliberations might reach until October even if Zubiri has previously vowed to have it approved this month.
Gonzales, a principal author of RBH No. 7, reiterated his appeal for the Senate to expedite its deliberations, saying “this is the best time to amend the economic provisions.”
“Sa Senado naman, nakikiusap tayo na kung pwede tapusin na rin iyong RBH 6 (To the Senate, we’re pleading for them to finish RNBH 6),” he said. “Nasa kanila po iyan, pero I’m very positive na ginagawa po nila yung trabaho nila at maipapasa din nila ‘yung RBH 6 (It is really up to them. I’m very positive that they are doing their job and will approve RBH 6 soon),” he said.
Gonzales said there might be no need for the two chambers to convene a conference committee to come up with a final version of the amendment proposals because there is not much difference between the two resolutions.
RBH No. 6 and No. 7 are both titled “A Resolution of Both Houses of Congress proposing amendments to certain economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, particularly on Articles XII, XIV and XVI,” pertaining to public services, basic education, and advertising.
Proponents of the bill seek to lift the 40 percent limit on foreign ownership in the three sectors to attract more foreign direct investments to the country and create more jobs for Filipinos by adding the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” to the three constitutional provisions – Section 11 of Article XII (National Patrimony and Economy), Section 4 of Article XIV (Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, and Sports) and Section 11 of Article XVI (General Provisions).
The only difference between the House and the Senate’s version is the provision found in RBH No. 6 which expressly states that the voting on the amendments should be undertaken separately by the two chambers because the Constitution, while requiring a three-fourths vote of all members of Congress, is silent on how the voting should be done.
Gonzales said he expects fewer questions to be raised in the plenary deliberations since many have already asked questions during the two-week Committee of the Whole proceedings on Cha-cha.
The House leadership has adopted the mode proposed by the late constitutionalist Fr. Joaquin Bernas and intends to pass RBH No.7 like an ordinary bill through the constitutional vote of three-fourths.
Rep. Margarita Ignacia Nograles (PL, PBA), a deputy majority leader, said the insertion of the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” in the Constitution’s economic provisions would give future Congresses the flexibility to adjust foreign equity and ownership limitations in the Charter.
“We will leave it up to the wisdom of the next few Congresses to really determine the timeline for the passage of such laws,” she said in mixed English and Filipino. “We cannot put certain numbers right now on the (foreign ownership) percentages because we cannot know today what would be good for the people in the next few years, in the next ten years.”
She said that by inserting the phrase, the 19th Congress “will leave it to the wisdom of the next few Congresses to create a law that would be good for that time.”
Quezon City Rep. Patrick Michael Vargas, an assistant majority leader, said the Constitution should be amended to adapt to changes. “Sigurado ako kailangan sumabay tayo sa mga dumarating na pagbabago kasi may edad na rin talaga ang ating Constitution (I’m sure that we have to adapt to future changes because our Constitution is really getting old),” he said.
