SENATE President Vicente Sotto III on Tuesday night said the Senate will most likely discuss proposed economic amendments to the Constitution when Congress resumes its regular sessions after the delivery of President Duterte’s last State of the Nation Address in July.
Sotto said the Senate does not have the time to discuss the measure anymore because it is focused on discussing several priority measures, which senators hope to pass before their sine die adjournment on June 4.
“We will probably be able to discuss it when we resume (sessions) after the SONA,” Sotto said.
The House on Tuesday adopted on third and final reading Resolution of Both Houses No. 2 with a vote of 251-21 with two abstentions. The HOR will now transmit the resolution to the Senate for the latter’s action.
The resolution seeks to allow lawmakers to introduce measures that would lift restrictive economic provisions in the Constitution by adding the line “unless otherwise provided by law.”
If approved by the Senate, the measure will empower Congress to craft measures which will lift the current restrictions on foreign investors which is seen to help the country’s quick economic recovery due to the impact of the pandemic.
Sotto added: “Yes, better chances if economic provision only, especially if not covered by the Public Service Act or Foreign Investment Act (which) we are passing.”
Last week, majority of the senators were still not inclined to support any amendments to the Constitution as they noted that there are still a number of priority economic measures being discussed in the chamber.
Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon earlier said a number of economic measures are already being acted upon in the Senate, including the amendments to the Public Service Act, Retail Trade Liberalization Act, and Foreign Investments Act which he said are meant “to liberalize our investment climate without amending the Constitution.”
He added that the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act was already passed into law in March.
“My reading is that the senators are not inclined to support amendments to the Constitution at this time. It was not even in the agenda of the LEDAC (Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council) meeting yesterday (Wednesday), which means it is not a priority legislation,” Drilon said.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson had said the restrictive economic provisions in the Constitution are now being addressed, “relying heavily on existing jurisprudence which we are now trying to reconcile with the proposed amendments as contained in the said Senate bills.”
Lacson said another reason why senators are against amending the Constitution is the unsettled manner of voting by the members of the two Chambers–whether jointly or separately.
“The senators assert that only the Supreme Court can interpret the provision to amend or revise the Charter. The problem is the absence of the cause of action that would trigger the Court to act and resolve the matter,” he added.
