House eyeing Cha-cha okay before Holy Week

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Committee of the Whole to discuss amendments

THE House of Representatives will convene as the Committee of the Whole starting Monday next week to deliberate on proposed amendments to “restrictive” economic provisions of the Constitution, which a lawmaker said may only take three days to complete.

On the motion of Iloilo Rep. Janet Garin, the House leadership agreed on Tuesday night to convene as a Committee of the Whole to fast-track the discussions, which were originally scheduled to kick-off yesterday at 1 p.m.

The hearing was moved to Monday because of the availability of resource persons who will be invited to shed light on the provisions in question, according to Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, senior vice chair of the House Committee on Appropriations.

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“The resource persons’ output is very important in this endeavor,” Quimbo said, adding: “Since we will be doing it in the plenary (with the House convened as the Committee of the Whole), the proceedings will be fast-tracked.”

The economist-lawmaker said resource persons will come from various sectors, including foreign investors, business chambers, small businesses, economists, members of the academe, and the government’s economic managers, among others.

Lanao del Norte Rep. Khalid Dimaporo said it may only take three days to finish the deliberations and approve Resolution of Both Houses No. 7, as he noted that the Senate is eyeing its discussions to last until October.

“The problem has always been with the Senate. Now, we understand in the Senate maybe there are more priorities when it comes to our national concerns,” Dimaporo told a press conference which is now being held daily by the House leadership. “How many more Presidents do we have to wait until the Senate is no longer busy?”

Dimaporo urged the Senate to openly support President Marcos Jr.’s call for Congress to introduce amendments to the economic provisions of the Constitution and expedite its work.

“We’re now in the 19th Congress, the 18th Congress, 17th Congress. We’ve been talking about Charter change. And here in the House, we’re always ready,” Dimaporo said. “Let’s stop making the pronouncements. Let’s start the debates so that we can deliver something for the Filipino people.”

RBH No. 7, which is exactly the same as the Senate’s Resolution of Both Houses No. 6, was filed by House leaders led by Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. to allow the House to tackle the proposal simultaneously with the Senate’s sub-committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes led by Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara.

The filing of RBH No. 7 has amped up pressure on senators to pass RBH No. 6, which is primarily authored by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri who was been criticized by congressmen after he reneged on his vow to have the measure approved before the Lenten break next month.

Both resolutions seek to amend specific economic provisions in the Constitution pertaining to public services, education, and advertising.

Dimaporo said because the House deliberations will be quick since the majority can take note of concerns raised by Charter change critics and answer it on the floor when the proposed amendments are discussed in plenary.

“If it’s not going to be one committee sitting, maybe two. If it’s (a) Committee of the Whole, maybe the most, three,” the administration lawmaker told reporters.

Amid Dimaporo’s optimism that the Cha-cha discussions will be completed in only three days, Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe of Zamboanga City said the plan is to hold three hearings weekly – Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays — to “exhaustively discuss” the measure and answer all the questions of House members even if it was already repeatedly done in the past by the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments.

“Since we are so focused trying to help this country, especially in amending those restrictive economic provisions of the Constitution, and also with the orders of the President, President Bongbong Marcos, that the Senate take the lead and we follow suit, this is it,” he said.

La Union Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega said the current timeline is to finish the deliberations before the Lenten break “but of course, we will have healthy debates and we will set the tone by Monday, but that’s the target.”

“We’ve been urging the Senate to do the same. In a perfect world, that’s really what we want to happen so we can start working on it immediately because this is really needed,” Ortega said.

Manila Rep. Ernesto Dionisio Jr. cited the critical role of the President in pushing for constitutional reforms.

“In my view, the President is like the captain of our nation’s ship. So, the captain is speaking, stating that this is what we need to improve our economy,” Dionisio said. “I think we should support him so he will succeed. And if the President succeeds, we all succeed as a nation.”

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For his part, Agusan del Norte Rep. Dale Corvera said he sees the end of the House-Senate word war with the filing of RBH No. 7 because the measure “will clear the air of any doubt that Congressmen have other motives in pushing for charter amendments other than its restrictive economic provisions.”

The lawmaker, a member of the constitutional amendments panel, said among the economic provisions in the charter lawmakers deem prohibitive and needing amendment are Article 12 on ownership of franchise, Article 14 on ownership of education enterprises, and Article 16 on ownership in the advertising industry.

Corvera said the two chambers “should have a sense of urgency because if nothing happens before October which is the filing of certificates of candidacy for the 2025 elections, Congress will lose its focus because its members will be busy already on the election campaign preparation.”

‘HEED PBBM’

Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III yesterday said the President’s pronouncement that the Senate should take the lead in ongoing discussions on Charter change sends a strong message that the upper chamber should be at the forefront of the campaign.

“Those who support the President should therefore follow his directives: Let the Senate take the lead,” Pimentel said in a Viber message to the media.

The President on Tuesday said amendments to the Charter should be done “without any fuss,” with the Senate taking the lead which he said was already agreed on “months ago.”

Marcos also stressed that “the more important thing is getting the needed amendments for the benefit of the people.”

“I always said the Senate will take the lead. The Senate is taking the lead and between the two houses, they will come to an agreement and that will be the way we will do it,” the President has said.

Pimentel said that since the President was “given no role by the Constitution” in amending the Charter, Cha-cha discussions “depend on those who have roles in amending the Constitution.”

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said “it is worth noting” that the upper chamber followed the President’s call to be at the forefront of introducing amendments to the Charter even before the “word war” between the Senate and the House of Representatives started.

“By taking the lead in this crucial process, the Senate demonstrates its commitment to shaping the future of our nation through thoughtful and deliberate constitutional amendments. Let us hope that these collaborative efforts results in positive changes that benefits all Filipinos,” Estrada said.

Now that the President has spoken, Estrada said he hopes that the bickering between the two houses will finally stop.

Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito said all parties should respect the President’s “categorical statement” that the Senate should be on top of the Cha-cha campaign.

“The problem is the PI (people’s initiative) efforts continued against what was agreed even after that meeting with the President (last January). The other house did not honor that agreement,” Ejercito said, adding that had members of the House honored the agreement, the bickering would not have started.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri assured Marcos and the public that the Senate will produce “the best possible amendments” that will relax the restrictive economic provisions of the Constitution.

“Rest assured that we are determined to come out with the best possible amendments that will help relax the economic restrictions of the Constitution that will benefit our people and uphold our national interest. We also remain resolute in protecting the rest of the Constitution,” Zubiri said in a statement. — With Raymond Africa and Gerard Naval

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