Senate swings with cha-cha

The Charter change, or cha-cha, locomotive has started to roll full steam ahead after the Senate jumped on the bandwagon after receiving timely advice from the top legal mind in the Palace.

Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile told Daily Tribune that contrary to the assertion of some legal quarters, previous Supreme Court rulings may not apply to the current People’s Initiative, or PI, effort.

“The SC cannot make an all-encompassing denial of the PI,” Enrile said.

Retired Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna had indicated in a television interview that the Court had ruled in Santiago v. Comelec that Republic Act 6735, or the Initiative and Referendum Act, was insufficient to effect constitutional amendments.

“That law cannot be used as the basis for a PI because something is lacking,” Azcuna had said.

The high tribunal’s decision in Santiago v.

Comelec stated that the poll body “should be permanently enjoined from entertaining or taking cognizance of any petition for a constitutional amendment” until a “sufficient” law is passed for it.

Enrile, however, said the ruling was specific to just that PI case in 1997.

A PI is one of the three modes for introducing amendments to the Constitution, the other two being through a Constituent Assembly and a Constitutional Convention.

The Senate opened its door to cha-cha after Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri filed on Monday Senate Resolution of Both Houses 6, which proposes amendments to Articles XII, XIV and XVI of the Charter.

Zubiri said the President suggested at a meeting with Speaker Martin Romualdez last week that the Senate pass the measure that would then be adopted by the House of Representatives.

“(The President) said, why doesn’t the Senate take the lead in the discussions of the economic provisions, and then you approve your version which the House can adopt? So that was the position of the President,” he told reporters.

Zubiri also recalled Marcos saying that a PI was “too divisive,” after hearing reports of bribes, threats, and disinformation surrounding the call for signatures on petitions.

“He even said that ‘as a former senator, I did not approve of the undermining or diminishing of the powers of the Senate when it came to bicameralism,’” Zubiri quoted the President.

Zubiri’s resolution proposed amendments to Section 11 of Article XII, or the National Patrimony and Economy; Paragraph 2, Section 4 of Article XIV, or the Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture and Sports Provision; and Paragraph 2, Section 11 of Article XVI or the General Provisions.

Crisis prevented

“This is to avert a constitutional crisis between the House and the Senate and to make it clear that there [will be] no other planned provisions or amendments on any other thing but the purely economic. We only have three topics here which are very simple and clear. We will do this so that we preserve the bicameralism of both the House of Representatives and the Senate,” Zubiri said after filing the measure.

Senate Resolution of Both Houses 6, Zubiri said, will also “constitutionalize” the Public Services Act which is currently being questioned in the Supreme Court.

Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda and Senator Sonny Angara are co-authors of the resolution.

“We do not want to waste the foreign investment pledges announced by our President and the Department of Trade and Industry for our country,” Zubiri added.

The Senate plans to create a subcommittee to discuss the proposed amendments, which will be chaired by Angara.

Zubiri said the discussions on the amendments will start this month and are expected to conclude in March.

The Senate leader is confident of securing three-fourths, or 18, of the votes of the 24-member legislative body to approve the measure.

House jubilant

Romualdez welcomed the Senate move despite the initial vehement opposition of the chamber to cha-cha.

Some senators, including Imee Marcos, voiced strong objections to the House’s renewed push for constitutional reforms, claiming the move did not have the clear support of her brother, the President.

Attempts to revamp the Charter had failed in the past due to suspicions the moves were merely to extend government officials’ terms.

The joint resolution is a “decisive step” towards amending the nearly 37-year-old Constitution, particularly its provisions on “restrictive” economic provisions that are hindering the entry of foreign capital and direct investments into the country, Romualdez pointed out.

Taking into account the economic surge, he stressed that the Charter must adapt to the evolving global economic landscape.

“The amendments proposed are not just timely but necessary to unlock the full potential of our economy, fostering a more competitive, inclusive and robust economic environment,” Romualdez said on Monday.

He added, “The move to amend the Constitution through a con-ass underscores our commitment to a democratic and participatory process. It reflects our collective resolve to address the longstanding barriers that have, to some extent, hindered our nation’s progress.”

Congress should muster a three-fourths vote of its members to amend the Constitution under con-ass.

The PI seeks to introduce a provision that will clarify whether the Senate and the House should vote jointly or separately for the revisions.

The passing of the resolution, Romualdez said, will send a strong signal of unity and align with the aspirations of the proponents of the ongoing People’s Initiative, whose efforts highlight the urgent need for constitutional reforms.

“We recognize that amending the Constitution is a significant and sensitive endeavor. It requires not only the collective will of Congress but also the support and understanding of the Filipino people. We are committed to ensuring that this process is transparent, inclusive, and reflective of the aspirations of our citizens,” he said.

“With or without the success of the PI, the House, for its part, will also exhaust all means made available by the Constitution to bring in more investments, create new and better paying jobs, and form new business and trade opportunities for our people. These things cannot wait,” Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, one of the proponents of cha-cha, said.