What ceasefire?

Congressional word war continues

MANILA, Philippines — A day after their leaders shook hands for a ceasefire in their word war, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives continued their verbal tussle yesterday over the 1987 Constitution.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Speaker Martin Romualdez shook hands in the presence of President Marcos and agreed to halt the word war between the two chambers, during a Feb. 14 bash celebrating the 100th birthday of Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile at Malacañang.

However, lawmakers from both camps continued to exchange barbs yesterday, with the tirades stemming from the senators’ questioning of the P26.7-billion allocation for the Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program under the Department of Social Welfare and Development. AKAP is being linked to the signature drive for a people’s initiative to amend the Charter.

Zubiri advised House members against holding daily press conferences to attack senators over Charter change.

In an ANC interview yesterday, Zubiri said he was willing to put the animosity behind him as long as the House kept its end of the bargain of no longer attacking senators.

“It’s about time we have a truce with the House of Representatives. But I do not know why they still have their daily press cons. Maybe they want to run for the Senate as well, and good, I’m happy for them,” Zubiri said.

“When you have a press con, you may say things out of script and out of context of what you want to share, and it may hurt feelings,” Zubiri said.

“Like yesterday, a couple of Congress representatives have said something right after I and the Speaker shook hands that have hurt the feelings of my colleagues,” he added.

He cited a Feb. 14 press conference at the House when Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman, Ako Bicol Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon and 1-Rider Rep. Rodge Gutierrez defended Romualdez from those criticizing him for his alleged role in the people’s initiative.

It is high time for a truce after lawmakers took to the floor to malign Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, Zubiri said.

The Senate President was referring to a Feb. 12 House session, when Bongalon brought up Villanueva’s pork barrel scam indictment later junked by the Ombudsman.

“I think they drew first blood by accusing him of having cases in the Ombudsman, when these were dismissed and were never filed. So, he is innocent. It was a personal attack on him, therefore, he blew his top,” Zubiri said.

“That was a very strongly worded attack on my majority leader. The Senate is squarely behind him on this particular issue,” he added.

Ignorance excuses no one

In Congress, Deputy Speaker David Suarez shot back at senators who questioned the P26.7-billion AKAP ayuda funds, saying they were the ones who approved it in the bicam report.

“Ignorance of the law excuses no one, especially for those who made and signed it,” Suarez said. “They all claimed they don’t know anything about the ayuda program when the 2024 General Appropriations Bill was signed. But they signed the bicam report. Their signatures appeared not just in the AKAP special provision but also in the entire bicam report.

“The entire Senate also approved the whole bicam report before they passed the 2024 GAB to President Marcos for his signature,” he explained further.

“Is it really their habit not to read whatever they have signed? How about the past bills that have been passed by the Senate? Could they have read the measures before they passed them?” Suarez asked.

“Anyway, it seems that it’s the norm among the senators and it’s becoming a pattern for them now: just make accusations without any shred of proof,” he lamented.

Imee urged: Help Marcos Jr.

For his part, Deputy Speaker Gonzales appealed to Sen. Imee Marcos for compassion, since her personal grumbling against her cousin, Speaker Romualdez, has been damaging the administration of her brother, the President.

“If I were Senator Imee, she should help PBBM because the success of her brother is also the success of our country and this is only the economic provisions (in Charter change) and there is no political reforms there,” Gonzales said.

He insisted that Marcos’ gripes against the Speaker should not stand in the way of her brother’s governance, urging her to internally settle the issue among themselves, away from the public eye.

“We’re all on the same boat or cruise ship called M/S Philippines. Why can’t she just help her brother succeed?” Gonzales asked.

“If I were a senator, I will listen to the President because this (Charter change) is our (Congress’) Valentine’s gift to him, this is for the good of the country, and only for the economic provisions… that is very clear in Resolution of Both Houses 6.”

Meantime, Gutierrez questioned the relevance of People’s Initiative for Modernization and Reform Action (PIRMA) having a valid registration at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the signature drive to amend the Constitution.

“Just a personal opinion, PI is an exercise on sovereignty. It’s the will of the people. So it will not necessarily require an SEC certificate. It’s not necessary to have a certificate to go around or so,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Roman and Bongalon urged the country’s legal experts, including senators, to listen to the wisdom of foreign investors when it comes to lifting restrictive economic provisions of the Charter.

“We should listen more to the potential investors. They would know the challenges that they face before investing in our country,” Roman told legislative reporters in a briefing. “We respect former justice (Antonio) Carpio. He’s a man of great experience.”

“But between theory and practical… let’s listen to the investors and I think it doesn’t take much to be observant and compare our situation to that of other countries,” the chairperson of the House committee on women and gender equality said.

Manifesto for Speaker

Thirty congressmen from Metro Manila issued a manifesto defending Speaker Romualdez from what they branded as “baseless accusations” of senators on the issue of Charter amendments.

“Let it be said, here and now, that we the undersigned Representatives from the National Capital Region denounce efforts to foment disunity in our nation! We call on all to respect each other’s positions and the voices of our citizens and their inalienable right to be heard,” they stated.

In a three-page “Statement of Solidarity,” the members of the House of Representatives declared that they are “standing firm with Romualdez in upholding the rights enshrined in our Constitution,” as democracy’s cornerstone is people’s “immutable right to have their voices heard.”

“We sign this unequivocally in support of the citizens we represent, in support of Speaker Romualdez who has been a Speaker for all and a Speaker of the Nation!” the veteran lawmakers declared further.

Anti Cha-cha groups unite

Various groups and personalities on Thursday convened to oppose the current push for Charter change.

In a joint press conference, representatives of various civic and religious groups along with other personalities—collectively called the “No to Cha-cha Network”—said the efforts to change the 1987 Constitution are “unnecessary.”

“We strongly oppose these efforts at this time for being unnecessary, divisive, expensive, and aimed mainly at entrenching those in power,” veteran rights activist Sister Mary John Mananzan read the joint statement of the unified group.

Former Supreme Court associate justice Carpio, who attended the event, said changing the Constitution is unnecessary to grow the economy. He also noted that the present people’s initiative is “unconstitutional,” arguing that the Constitution only permits people’s initiatives to introduce amendments and not revisions.

During the press conference, the group also announced that a nationwide protest against Cha-cha will be conducted during the 38th anniversary of the EDSA people power uprising.– Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Nillicent Bautista