THE Senate sub-committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes kicks off today in Baguio City its regional consultations on Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 (RBH 6), or the economic Charter change (Cha-cha) bill.
RBH 6, authored by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, pro tempore Loren Legarda and Angara, seeks to revise the Constitution’s Section 11, Article XII on National Patrimony and Economy; Paragraph 2, Section 4 of Article XIV on Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture and Sports; and Paragraph 2, Section 11 of Article XVI on General Provisions by inserting the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law.”
Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, sub-committee chairman, said today’s consultation will be held at the Lafayette Luxury Suites in Baguio City.
Aside from Angara, expected to attend the hearing are Senators Zubiri, Legarda, Ronald dela Rosa and Christopher Go.
“We had very fruitful hearings that provided us valuable insights from the framers of the Constitution on what was intended in the imposition of the restrictions on foreign equity on the three sectors. The sentiments of the stakeholders of the affected sectors also allowed us to gauge the temperature to the proposed economic charter change,” Angara said.
The sub-committee has so far held five public consultations on RBH 6 which were all conducted at the Senate. These were attended by the framers of the 1987 Constitution and other experts in the fields of public utilities, education and advertising.
“Now we will listen to the opinions of the local leaders, business sector, higher educational institutions in the three regions and also provide them with a clearer picture of what the entire exercise is all about. All of these inputs will be taken into account once we conclude our hearings and start working on the committee report,” Angara said.
Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III had earlier said the Cha-cha bill has no chance of being approved in the Senate after Zubiri said that around eight or nine senators are opposed to changing the Charter.
Those who are against Cha-cha, according to Zubiri, are of the position that the so-called “restrictive” provisions in the Constitution have already been remedied through amendments to related measures.
After the consultation in Baguio, the next hearings will be held at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City on May 23 and at the Xavier Sports and Country Club in Cagayan de Oro City on May 24.
