MANILA, Philippines — The administration is not pushing for political amendments to the Constitution, with President Marcos reassuring the public that the proposed reforms in the Charter would be limited to economic provisions.
Amid speculations on the motives behind efforts to amend the Charter, Marcos said his administration is just after the provisions that hinder the entry of investments.
“Allow me to make it clear: this administration’s position in introducing reforms for the Constitution extends to economic matters alone... For those… strategically aimed at boosting our economy. Nothing more,” Marcos said during the commemoration of Constitution Day in Makati yesterday.
He said the presence of restrictive economic provisions was the reason why no less than 300 measures pushing for economic Charter change have been filed since the 8th Congress.
As the House of Representatives and the Senate engage in a word war over Charter change, Marcos vowed to allow the debates on the issue to continue.
“We must allow this healthy and democratic debate to wage on... especially that the social economic development of our country is directly involved,” the President said.
In a recent interview with GMA News, Marcos said he was open to amending some political provisions of the Charter but expressed belief that it is not yet time to do so.
“We really have to think about that… we can have these discussions later on. But for the present day, my concern is the economic provisions.”
Speaker Martin Romualdez welcomed the statement of the President on the need and urgency for amending the Constitution’s “restrictive” economic provisions.
“The President made it clear that these provisions hinder the entry of foreign investments and the potential for faster and inclusive economic growth, which in turn could translate to a better life for every Filipino,” he said.
“We are happy that he also took note of our consistent advocacy in the House of Representatives for changing those restrictive provisions for more than three decades since the 8th Congress, or since 36-37 years ago,” Romualdez, the leader of the 300-plus-strong House of Representatives, said.
Romualdez also lauded the President’s assurance that his support for reform, to quote him, “extends to economic matters only…nothing more.”
No plans
The House of Representatives never planned to abolish the Senate, as there were no political revisions in the 1987 Constitution that had been pushed under resolutions approved by the House in the 19th Congress, according to Rep. Robert Ace Barbers.
“Again, I’d like to emphasize that we really did not discuss anything about political revisions, and the Speaker has made that very clear in all his pronouncements, in all his statements. That’s why those who doubt us should no longer have doubts on our proposal,” Barbers said.
Abolishing the Senate is farthest from the minds of officials and members of the House of Representatives, Barbers reiterated, noting that senators even have their own state-of-the-art building in Bonifacio Global City worth P8.6 billion.
The new Senate building is inside Navy Village, Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City where senators are expected to transfer before 2024 ends. The new Senate building has four towers with 11 floors each, and three basements for parking.
“How can we abolish the Senate, when in fact we were informed that the design of the new Senate building has, I think, 64 rooms for senators, when there are only 24 of them. That’s why I told Deputy Speaker Jayjay Suarez, we might be the ones facing abolition,” Barbers joked to journalists.
“We would be the ones to be abolished, and not them apparently,” Suarez retorted, with a smile.
Rizal Rep. Jack Duavit, who heads the Nationalist People’s Coalition power bloc in the chamber, also said they will not allow five of their NPC partymates in the Senate to be jobless.
“And if we are not going to remove our five senators, then the other 19 senators can be assured,” Duavit added.
The five senators belonging to the NPC are Loren Legarda, Francis Escudero, Lito Lapid, Sherwin Gatchalian and JV Ejercito.
Rep. LRay Villafuerte reminded senators that what the House wants is the “restoration of dignified discourse and a recommitment to the principles of inter-chamber respect and courtesy” in the 19th Congress (2022-2025).”
Meanwhile, Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co shot back at Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva for looking down on House lawmakers, saying senators are far more superior than congressmen.
Villanueva earlier told Senate reporters “who is he?” referring to his House counterpart, Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, who issued a challenge to senators to lay their cards on the table and declare openly whether they are for or against amending economic provisions of the Constitution.
“First of all, Sen. Joel is a former party-list lawmaker himself. The senator seems a bit arrogant, we all know who he is,” Co said in a radio interview, citing the senator’s involvement in the multibillion-pork barrel scam of Janet Lim-Napoles.
“He was formerly perpetually disqualified in a decision of the ombudsman but it looks like he appealed. But we know that he was linked to Janet Napoles,” Co added.
“That is what we know. He just got lucky that he was best friend of PNoy (late president Noynoy Aquino) and we don’t know how he won,” he said.
In 2016, former ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales ordered the dismissal of Villanueva from the Senate for allegedly channeling P10 million of his Priority Development Assistance Fund allocation as CIBAC party-list congressman to a bogus non-government organization.
Villanueva was found by Morales guilty of “grave misconduct, serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the interest of the service,” but held on to his Senate post on the argument his identity was stolen to abet the anomalous use of funds.
Bullying
With the continued “attacks” of some House members over the controversial issue of people’s initiative that was meant to amend the Constitution, Sen. Sonny Angara asserted that it seems “the House is bullying the Senate.”
During the Kapihan sa Senado media briefing yesterday, Angara said he is puzzled why some congressmen continue to hold press conferences just to criticize senators when the Senate has started discussing Resolution of Both Houses 6, the outcome of which Speaker Romualdez promised to adopt as recommended by President Marcos.
When asked whether the House is bullying the Senate, Angara replied: “It seems like that… that’s how it appears to be. Imagine, they have press con every single day. Doesn’t that sound like a bully? You go to the comfort room, oh there’s the bully, go to the cafeteria to buy a soft drink, oh there they are again. It’s like we are hit every day.”
“I think it (not to take it personally and rise above the issue) will help going forward. But when we are attacked, we cannot (but) respond. It’s self-defense, that is inherent in every individual to defend (himself). You’re being bullied, you won’t answer?” Angara told reporters.
Sen. Francis Escudero on Wednesday dared Dalipe, as well as the other congressmen, to finally admit in public that the House of Representatives was behind the “fake” people’s initiative signature campaign to amend the 1987 Constitution.
“Why don’t they come out in the open, be accountable and admit to the public that they are truly the ones behind this fake people’s initiative instead of doing a striptease?” Escudero asked.
He pointed out that at first, congressmen denied having anything to do with the initiative but they later admitted acting as facilitator but not orchestrator “and now, they have the nerve to say we (congressmen) will stop PI when they (senators) pass RBH6.”
“It would bode well for them to heed their own Speaker’s words when he quoted the saying ‘People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones,’” Escudero added..– Cecille Suerte Felipe