SENATE President Vicente Sotto III yesterday said Malacañang has agreed to study his proposal approach to save the vetoed SIM Card Registration Act.
Sotto said he presented to Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea late Monday night his proposal for both houses of Congress to override the presidential veto and for the Palace to ask the Supreme Court to strike down as unconstitutional the provision on the mandatory registration of social media accounts.
“So, sabi ko ayaw niyo ‘yung internet sa isyu. With your permission, sabi ko ipaalam mo kay Presidente, I will overturn the veto. That means I can get 2/3 votes from the Senate to overturn it (So I said, if you don’t want the provision on the internet, with your permission, I told him, to notify the President that I will overturn the veto. That means I can get 2/3 votes from the Senate to overturn it),” Sotto said in a press conference in Dumaguete City.
Sotto said he also asked Medialdea to get the “imprimatur” of President Duterte so that the House of Representatives can also override the vetoed measure.
If the President approves it, he said he will talk with Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and his partymates from the Nationalist People’s Coalition to do the same.
“Bakit ko sina-suggest na i-overturn? Because I myself will petition, (or) I will ask somebody to petition before the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional the provision that they do not like. So, kapag dineclare ng Supreme Court na unconstitutional ‘yun, pasado ang bill. Magiging batas ang SIM Car Registration. Yung ayaw niyo maaalis (Why am I suggesting the overturn of the veto? Because I myself will petition [or] will ask somebody to [file a] petition before the Supreme Court to declare [as] unconstitutional the provision that they do not like. So, if that happens, the bill will be passed, the SIM Card Registration will become a law, and the provision that they do not like will be stricken off),” he said.
Sotto said Medialdea was silent for about half a minute but replied: “Pag-aaralan namin, SP (We will look into that, SP).”
