THE Senate will stick to the proposed amendments to three economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution when the sub-committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes starts discussions on Monday on the proposed Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 6 seeking revisions to the Charter.
Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, who is the chairperson of the sub-committee, made the assurance yesterday amid concerns that political amendments will be inserted during the deliberations.
“Maganda ang gagawin ng Senado dahil limitado lamang sa economic amendments ito. Hindi tulad ng PI (people’s initiative) na walang limitasyon sa amyenda kung sakaling maamyendahan ang paraan ng botohan sa pag-amyenda ng Saligang Batas (The Senate will only limit discussions on economic amendments, unlike the people’s initiative which has no limits on amendments if ever the way of amending the Constitution is changed),” Angara said.
Angara said “we (senators) will focus on the contents of the resolution” by the senators “so we can have a focused and limited discussion.”
He said he “will invite a wide sector of society and political spectrum to ensure healthy discussion and debate. No discussion on political amendments.”
RBH No. 6 enjoins the Senate and the House of Representatives to propose amendments limited to the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution. It intends to include the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” in Section 11, Article 12 (National Patrimony and Economy), Paragraph 2 Section 4 of Article 14 (Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, and Sports), and Paragraph 2 Section 11 of Article 16 (General Provisions – Advertising).
It was filed by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate president pro tempore Loren Legarda, and Angara after President Marcos Jr. tapped the upper chamber to lead the discussions on amending the economic provisions of the Charter.
Zubiri has quoted the President as saying that the PI, widely believed to be the handiwork of congressmen, was “too divisive.”
Discussions on RBH No. 6 was temporarily “sidelined” after members of the Senate and the House bickered over the continued push by the lower chamber of the PI, which proposes that the two houses vote jointly on proposed Charter changes. Senators have vehemently opposed the House plan and issued a manifesto denouncing what they perceived as a House attempt to violate the Constitution through a people’s initiative.
The manifesto strongly objected to the alleged scheme, viewing it as an effort to undermine the Senate in the ongoing constitutional change, and opposed a suggested amendment requiring joint voting in a constituent assembly, cautioning against potential disruptions to democratic balance and extensive constitutional amendments.
PI LAW
Sen. Imee Marcos said the sub-committee should include in its discussions the crafting of a law which will govern the PI.
“Why don’t we first make a law? Let’s hammer together, craft, debate until we get a law and thereafter produce this people’s initiative that is properly done,” Marcos said in an interview with ANC.
She said it was clearly stated in the decision of the Supreme Court on the Santiago vs Commission on Elections (Comelec) case that there is no executory law for the people’s initiative for Charter change, citing inadequacy in RA 6736 or The Initiative and Referendum Act.
“They said the existing laws are inadequate, and that, therefore, we have to make a law,” she said.
She said there should be a collaborative effort in the Senate to meticulously craft a law that would delineate the method, process, guidelines, and safeguards for a successful people’s initiative.
She added that a people’s initiative should engage in consultation with the public and addresses pertinent issues, particularly the cost of living, to resonate with the concerns of the average Filipino family.
Last Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation chaired by Marcos started its inquiry into allegations of bribery, deception, and other illegal activities associated with the ongoing people’s initiative.
During the hearing, testimonies and evidence emerged implicating Speaker Martin Romualdez and other members of the House in the initiative.
BACK TO WORK
Rizal Rep. Jack Duavit, the leader of the Nacionalist People’s Coalition (NPC) in the House, expressed hopes that the Senate move to tackle RBH No. 6 next week “is a start of things simmering down and Congress getting back to work.”
“So, we welcome it very much,” he told a press conference Wednesday night. “Like I said two days ago, in an ideal world nga, ‘yung mga debate mangyayari sa official na kapasidad (the debates happen in our official capacity) and I think that is the beginning of that. Just to start it is good.”
House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe said the House leadership expects the developments in the Senate to elevate the level of discussion on the issue of constitutional amendments.
“So we welcome, we would like to thank our counterpart in the Senate for finally sitting down — as what we have been requesting – let’s bring it out to a higher level of discussion particularly the meat of the matter, the economic amendments to be made to help this country, the economic amendments to update that 37-year-old Constitution,” Dalipe said.
“Senate President Migz Zubiri even gave them a timeline that they will pass it this by March. The House is patient enough in waiting for them to pass the measure this March.
Maghinintay po ang House (The House will wait),” he added. — With Wendell Vigilia
