AT the start of the final regular session of the 19th Congress, Senate President Francis Escudero took the right track by delineating the priorities of the Senate under his leadership, with emphasis on delivering the needed legislative service to the Filipino people.
Escudero said the senators “will set aside items which merely dissipate our energy and divide the public. For this same reason, pending bills on Charter change will be placed on the backburner and will follow the ordinary and regular process of legislation, if at all.”
The fate of any measure on constitutional amendment or revision that will need the concurrence of the Senate, at least while Escudero calls the shots in the chamber, has been decided by the Senate leadership right at the start–it won’t be a priority.
The lawmakers in the House of Representatives can dance around with friendly requests or raise their fists in protest against the Senate’s obvious gesture of non-cooperation, but the upper chamber will not be moved.
‘Many Filipinos are hopeful that the new Senate President will continue to guard the independence of the Senate…’
Escudero said the Senate should focus instead on bills that are part of the common executive and legislative agenda.
“In its stead, bills which can effect the same result — but without the needless political noise and bickering — will be prioritized. This will allow us to focus our energy on measures which the people truly need,” he said.
At a press briefing after the session, Escudero said he considered Charter change a “divisive” bill that should go through the regular legislative mill instead of being a pet measure.
“It’s not a priority for me. Since it was not mentioned in the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council, I don’t think it’s a priority of the LEDAC or the executive either,” Escudero said.
Escudero said it is a time-honored tradition in the Senate to scrutinize proposed measures instead of serving as the administration’s rubber stamp.
He is correct in describing various attempts to tweak the Constitution as divisive for the nation. In its bare essence, amending the Charter is a legal task that may indeed be necessary for the good of the nation and its economy. It is written in the Constitution itself how changes in the Charter might be proposed and processed by the people or by Congress. The reason attempts to introduce changes in the Constitution have resulted in acrimonious division is that the proponents have been found to have hidden agenda such as a desire to perpetuate themselves in power. Of course, this does not sit well with the formidable majority of our countrymen.
Greed for power or for money, or both, is easy to filter and identify in the process of lawmaking. We have intelligent senators and congressmen who are trusted by the people and their colleagues to do an independent scrutiny of proposed measures, resolutions and laws, including the national budget. And then there’s the media, the mainstream and social media, which may be both relied upon to provide some more vetting on these measures being taken up in Congress.
The Senate President also promised that it would be a productive third regular session in the Senate by focusing on the “quality, not quantity” of bills.
“Quality over quantity has always been the tradition in the Senate. The House has always churned out the most bills. But often, it is the Senate that allocates more time in fine-tuning bills that eventually become the version of the law,” Escudero said.
Many Filipinos are hopeful that the new Senate President will continue to guard the independence of the Senate, as he vowed thus: “We are not just here to stamp our approval on bills. We also propose legislation which need not come from the executive.”
