Lagman prefers unicameral Congress

MANILA, Philippines — After nearly 40 years, the bicameral Congress must be changed to a unicameral legislature, wherein gridlocks in the Senate and the House of Representatives would be done away with, according to Rep. Edcel Lagman.

“I prefer a unicameral Congress so that the passing of bills will be much faster, so we can pinpoint the responsibility in the unicameral,” said Lagman, president of the opposition Liberal Party.

He made the statement when asked if the passage of legislative measures such as the divorce bill, of which he is the principal author, would be faster if the legislature was one chamber.

Converting the present Congress into a one-chamber legislature “will have to entail a constitutional amendment, because that is an institutional change,” he noted.

Economic Charter change resolutions pending in Congress – Resolutions of Both Houses 6 and 7 – do not contain any proposed political constitutional amendments. Both resolutions propose changes in restrictive economic provisions of the Charter.

Meanwhile, newly installed Senate President Francis Escudero and Speaker Martin Romualdez are scheduled to meet this week.

Their meeting could make a difference in the final approval of the economic Charter change bill pending in the Senate.

“I hope our senators would support the President’s goal for the country to produce better-skilled graduates who are ready for the highly competitive post-pandemic global economy by acting on Resolution of Both Houses 6,” said Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, referring to the Senate’s version of the economic Charter change bill.

RBH6 seeks to lift foreign ownership restrictions to allow the entry of premier international higher education institutions, Villafuerte noted.

“I expect to meet with him (Romualdez) soon during the break... mending what needs to be mended and establishing rules and protocols... to coordinate and avoid misunderstandings or any miscommunication,” Escudero said at the recent Kapihan sa Senado media forum.