Pimentel: Charter talks to eat up Senate time
SENATE minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III yesterday said Charter change (Cha-cha) discussions will sideline and delay the passage of important measures when Congress resumes regular sessions today after going on a holiday break starting December 16 last year.
In an interview with radio dzBB, Pimentel said the Senate should tackle proposed amendments to the Military and Uniformed Personnel pension program and the creation of maritime specialty zones, among others, instead of wasting their time discussing amendments to the 1987 Constitution.
The approval of important measures, he stressed, will be unreasonably postponed when Cha-cha talks start at the Senate.
“Nakakalungkot na sa pagbabalik ng sesyon ay ang usapin ng Cha-cha na. Nung nag break kami nung December wala naman ‘yan. Ang pinag-uusapan dapat ay ang MUP pension fund, maritime zone law, ‘yun ang dapat na priorities. Sayang. There are only 24 hours a day. Sa session, mga 5 to 6 hours lang. Yun lang ang kaya namin at kung uubusin ng Cha-cha ay saying (It’s lamentable that when our sessions resume, we will talk about Cha-cha. That was not tackled when we took a break last December. We should be talking about the MUP pension fund, maritime zone law, among others, these should be our priorities. It’s a pity because we only have 24 hours a day, and we hold sessions 5 to 6 hours only, and then it will just be wasted due to Cha-cha),” Pimentel said.
He reiterated he sees no need to discuss Cha-cha at this time.
Pimentel sees the concurrence of Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri to the Cha-cha initiative being pushed by the House of Representatives as an act of “self-preservation.”
Zubiri has created a subcommittee of the Committee of Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes, to be headed by Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, to spearhead discussions on his proposed Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 6 proposing amendments to three economic provisions of the Constitution.
Zubiri, who has previously been “cold” to the idea of Cha-cha, filed RBH No. 6 after meeting with President Marcos Jr., whom he said has tasked the Senate to take the lead in introducing amendments to the Charter via the constituent assembly (con-ass) mode.
Lawmakers from the House are pushing for a people’s initiative (PI) to revise the Constitution. A signature drive, believed to be initiated by congressmen, calling for the convening of Congress into a con-ass voting jointly to approve the proposed Charter changes has rolled out nationwide, with hundreds of signature sheets already submitted to local Commission on Elections (Comelec) offices.
“Yun na nga, maling dahilan ‘yun (self-preservation) kasi hindi constitutional change ang gusto. Self-preservation measure ng Senado kasi ang pakiramdam ng authors, under threat ang Senado dahil sa people’s initiative na ang suspetsang nasa likod ay ang House of Representatives. Maling mali lahat ng proseso kasi kung gusto ng Congress na marinig ang boses niya, gamitin ang con-ass, at huwag itago sa PI kasi para sa taumbayan ‘yun at hindi dapat nakikialam ang Congress doon
(That is a wrong reason because constitutional change is not the primary reason. That is a self-preservation measure of the Senate because the author (of Resolution of Both Houses No. 6) felt that the Senate is under threat due to the people’s initiative which is being pushed by the House of Representatives. The process is wrong because if Congress wants its voice to be heard, it should use constitutional assembly and not hide under the people’s initiative because this should be pushed by the people and Congress should not interfere),” Pimentel said.
He noted that the mode that the House lawmakers want will overshadow the Senate, which only has 24 senators, compared to the more than 300 congressmen when joint voting takes place.
Pimentel said he will question the logic behind the inclusion of the provisions regarding education and advertising in the proposed economic amendments to the Charter, stressing that there is no clear reason for the two provisions to be discussed or amended.
He said he will also raise other concerns in today’s session.
“Number one, motivation, then, why now? Anong maaapektuhan because kakain ng oras ito. Number two, procedure. Ano ang rules natin dito? Dapat con-ass, therefore mag come up ng rules. Number three, substance… ‘yung ‘unless provided by law,’ anong ibig sabihin noon (Number one, motivation, then, why now? What will be affected because this will surely eat up our time. Number two, procedure. What will be our rules? If con-ass, there we should come up with rules. Number three, substance. I will ask what is the meaning of the phrase ‘unless otherwise provided by law’ that they intend to introduce in the three economic provisions),” he said.
PEOPLE’S INITIATIVE
With the Senate set to look into the PI signature drive, Pimentel said the brains behind the initiative should be unmasked to put an end to the guessing game as to who is really pushing for Charter change.
He said all concerned parties — the ad agency, the law firm, the advocates — who have been identified as to be behind the PI drive should be invited to shed light on the issue so the Senate.
He said if it is found out during the Senate investigation that public funds were used in the PI campaign, then the latter should be declared invalid amid reports that those who signed the petition were paid P100 each allegedly using government funds.
Sen. Imee Marcos has earlier said that public school teachers, barangay health workers and contractors of the Department of Works and Highways (DPWH) are being tapped for the signature campaign after congressmen and local government officials laid low as the sources of funds for the PI campaign was disclosed.
“Indirectly, government resources ‘yung ginamit. Sa people’s initiative na yan kasi public school teachers suweldado ng gobyerno, barangay health workers sweldado or nagre-receive ng stipend or honoraria sa gobyerno, indirectly pera pa rin ng taumbayan. Itong sa DPWH contractors na kadami-dami ng projects sa gobyerno, eh di pera din ng taumbayan ‘yan. Bawal na bawal po ‘yan kasi ibig sabihin nun ‘yung nasa likod is government itself (Indirectly, government resources are being used in this people’s initiative because public school teachers and barangay health workers receive either salaries, honoraria, or stipend from the government. These DPWH contractors, who have several contracts with government, are also using public funds. That is prohibited because this only shows that the government itself is behind the people’s initiative),” Pimentel said.
He added that reports of senior citizens party-list groups also getting involved in convincing registered voters to sign the PI petition can be a reason for their disqualification in the next elections.
“Mabuting tignan na rin ‘yan kasi maraming party list na gumagamit ng people’s money para ipropagate yung kanilang mga party list. Actually, puwede na yang gamitin pang disqualify sa kanila sa next election, sa 2025 (This should also be looked into because there are many party list groups who use people’s money to propagate themselves. Actually, that can be used to disqualify them in the next elections, in 2025),” he said.
NO TO CHA-CHA
The non-government organization Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) yesterday expressed strong opposition to the Cha-cha campaign, saying it may lead to the removal of current provisions that are favorable to workers.
“We fear that Cha-cha will remove not only limits to foreign ownership of land and other essential sectors of the economy. We also fear that it will remove the provisions of the 1987 Constitution that guarantee labor rights,” said CTUHR.
“Opening up the country to foreign investors and removing labor rights provisions in the 1987 Constitution will mean deeper suffering and greater exploitation for Filipino workers. Marcos Jr’s Cha-cha will make the country’s Constitution even worse,” it also said.
Among the provisions that could be targeted, the group said, is the provision on self-organization, collective bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities, including the right to strike as well as security of tenure, humane conditions of work, and a living wage.
CTUHR said lawmakers may also take away labor policies that provide adequate social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for all.
“Further opening to foreign investors means more intense participation in the global race to the bottom, in which developing countries race among each other to offer labor that is cheapest, most repressed, and, therefore, most denied of rights to big foreign employers,” it warned.
“The Marcos Jr regime wants to take advantage of the current weakness of the labor movement to ram through its Cha-cha and remove or reduce labor rights provisions,” added CTUHR. — With Gerard Naval
