Romualdez welcomes Zubiri commitment to tackle economic changes
The Senate will push through with its own effort to amend economic provisions of the Constitution, which was earlier put on hold after senators raised the alarm over a separate signature campaign for a people’s initiative that they said sought to make them irrelevant.
Speaker Martin Romualdez on Wednesday welcomed Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri’s commitment to begin discussing Charter change next week.
“We are heartened by the news that the Senate, finally, will commence hearings on Resolution of Both Houses 6 next week. This marks a significant step towards the much-awaited constitutional amendments,” Romualdez said in a statement.
“As Speaker of the House of Representatives, I await with great anticipation the outcomes of these Senate deliberations,” he added.
In an interview yesterday, Zubiri said Resolution of Both Houses (RBH)
No. 6, which he had filed, would be tackled in hearings starting next week.
The resolution seeks to amend three specific economic provisions of the Constitution through a constituent assembly, with the Senate and the House of Representatives voting separately.
The hearing will be handled by the subcommittee on constitutional amendments and revisions of codes and laws led by Senator Juan Edgardo Angara.
Meanwhile, Zubiri, Angara, and Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda had filed RBH 6. Zubiri said he filed BHR 6 to avert a constitutional crisis and to preserve bicameralism.
When the resolution was presented to President Marcos in January, Zubiri said, Romualdez had committed to approve it.
But now Zubiri said they can proceed with the hearing of RBH 6 due the President’s statement that people’s initiative is no longer an option for Charter change.
Senator Grace Po said the people’s initiative for Charter change was flawed from the beginning because it focused on having both chambers of Congress vote together, instead of stating the provisions that needed amendments in the Constitution.
“It is inherently wrong,” she said.
“If the intention of the movers of PI was on the economic amendments, then the specific provisions should have been spelled out in the petition,” she added.
The senator said things got worse with reports and actual testimonies of individuals that money or assistance was given in exchange for their signatures.
Romualdez said the prospect of amending and potentially easing certain restrictive provisions in the 1987 Constitution is more than a legislative exercise. “It is a great stride towards realizing the aspirations of our people and unlocking the full potential of our nation,” he said.
Zubiri on Wednesday said the Senate will refrain from commenting on the recent people’s initiative and buckle down to work by shifting its focus to pending bills.
“Let’s slow down the political bickering because what’s important is the welfare of our people,” Zubiri said in Filipino.
Senator Imee Marcos, in a separate interview, said senators are willing to sit down with Speaker Romualdez and other congressmen with the assurance that they will no longer pursue PI.
Senator Marcos, who is now leading the investigation of alleged irregularities in the PI, was answering the call of congressmen to stop the investigation and hasten the passage of the RBH 6 instead.
She questioned why members of the House of Representatives are interfering in the affairs of the Senate.
The Senator said PI discredits the Marcos administration and wastes a lot of political capital which “can never be recovered again.”
The senator was set to fly to Davao on Friday to open the second inquiry regarding the PI with another set of witnesses and more resource persons.
House leaders have expressed their misgivings on the Senate’s investigation into the PI.
Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. David Suarez described the Senate hearing as “a circus” and said it was moot because the Commission on Election has suspended action on the initiative.
Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman said the hearings were a waste of time, especially since the Comelec has suspended actions on the PI.
Senator Christopher Go called on the government to ensure the proper use of resources to benefit Filipinos as he condemned the misuse of programs to push for a people’s initiative.
He said it was unacceptable to use government programs that aim to help the poor to encourage people to sign forms for what he called a fake people’s initiative.
Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno said national and local government officials who paid off people in exchange for their signatures to support the PI may be charged with various offenses.
“The concept of the people’s initiative emanates from the right of the people to amend our Constitution. It is clear in the previous decisions of the Supreme Court that government officials should not interfere,” Diokno said in a radio interview.
“If the public funds were used for another purpose other than what they were intended for, it could be considered malversation. It could also fall under anti-graft and corrupt practices as it can be considered inducement to commit any violation of rules and regulations or the law,” he said.
Diokno further noted that public officials who placed conditions on government services could also face legal consequences under the Ease of Doing Business Act.
Instead of pushing for Charter change, government leaders should address what is important to the public right now—finding solutions to hunger, the high cost of goods, and education, Diokno said.
Meanwhile, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chairman of the House committee on constitutional amendments, said the Senate has always opposed efforts by the House to introduce changes in the Constitution.
“Our records show that they have consistently been obstructionist when it came to Charter reform in the past three decades — for a total of 12 Congresses or for 34-35 years — from the 8th Congress to the present 19th Congress,” he said.
He said the Senate’s obstinate opposition to constitutional amendment efforts from the House has prompted some congressmen to support people’s organizations in launching a people’s initiative, the mode the Constitution itself provides for a direct popular proposition for Charter change.
“That process will bypass the Senate. I personally do not want that to happen, but I think the majority of us will support it out of frustration over the Senate’s obstructionism,” he said.
He pointed out that senators have not acted even on House proposals to limit proposed amendments to the Constitution’s “restrictive economic provisions that hinder investments.”
“They have held hostage reforms that could have accelerated our economic growth, generated more investments and created more income and job opportunities for our people,” he said.
Rodriguez said a total of 358 Charter change measures had been filed with the House from the 8th Congress up to the current 19th Congress.
Of these, 83 proposed amendments were through a constituent assembly, 105 were through a constitutional convention and 98 were by way of Congress holding separate sessions, he said.