Senators are not receptive to amending the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, Senator Nancy Binay said.
Binay also said she believes moves to amend the said provisions are as “good as dead” in the Senate.
She noted that senators are “not warm” on the amendments which are being pushed by Sen. Robin Padilla.
In a media briefing, Binay also said she has no knowledge that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is pushing for the Charter changes or “ChaCha”.
She related that the senators believe they should focus on other important things hounding the country, including issues that harm the lives of Filipino people. She also stressed that inflation and the possible global recession should be given priority.
“If we are talking about economic provisions, we should first look at the implementation of the Public Service Act and Trade Liberalization,” she also said. “Why don’t we try selling them to foreign investors? We have not yet tried them,” she added.
Binay also said it is up to Padilla, who chairs the Senate constitutional amendments committee, if he wants to conduct a hearing on the said amendments.
Binay also said she believes that economic recovery should be the ultimate concern and top priority of our government and the lawmakers.
“It (chacha) is very divisive. We will be clashing against each other again. That conversation seems divisive, and we don’t need it,” she stressed.
Binay also raised concern over the proposal of “voting separately or voting as one. “
Meanwhile, the senator admitted there are provisions in the Constitution that should be fixed, but questioned if the timing and cost-benefit are worth it.