PI battleground shifts to RBH 6

There would be no timeline for the passage of Resolution of Both Houses 6 which proposes amendments to the “restrictive” economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said Monday.

“We just like to put on record that the Senate is working very hard to listen to the clamor of certain sectors to look at and revisit the 1987 Constitution,” Zubiri said at the start of the Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments hearing on RBH 6.

“But we will not be falling into the trap of a deadline. Because to discuss such an important matter needs time, it needs study. It cannot be rushed like any regular bill that is just approved without thinking,” he said.

The Senate subcommittee, led by Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, opened the first public hearing on RBH 6, following a recent series of heated exchanges between senators and members of the House of Representatives on the People’s Initiative.

The senators are against the PI, allegedly being carried out by congressmen, particularly Speaker Martin Romualdez. The PI seeks to convene the Senate and the House into a Constituent Assembly voting as one to amend the Constitution.

The PI — the proceedings for which, including the acceptance of signature sheets, was suspended by the Commission on Elections — has been marred by accusations by Senator Imee Marcos of irregularities and corruption.

Marcos noted reports that those who signed the PI were bribed with money from a “war chest” allegedly made available to members of the House to the tune of P20 million per district.

Zubiri, one of the authors of RBH 6, said he would let Angara, the subcommittee chairman, decide on the timeline for the passage of the resolution.

“I give my full support to our chairperson, Sen. Sonny Angara. The timeline is in your hands, if you feel it necessary that we discuss this with all the members of society, not only our learned luminaries here, as well as different sectors that will be affected by proposed amendments to our Constitution,” he said.

“So we leave it all to you, my dear colleagues, my dear chairman, you have the full trust and confidence of this institution. Again, let us not listen to the noise. Let us be above the fray,” Zubiri said.

Exhaustive hearings

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva echoed the Senate chief’s assurance that the upper chamber would not rush the passage of RBH 6.

“We began our hearing today consistent with our commitment, the commitment of our Senate President to the President, to explore and study amendments to the economic provisions of the Constitution,” Villanueva said.

“These will be exhaustive hearings. Unlike this fake PI, we will not rush it. We will do it right and we will follow our timetable — one that ensures that all voices are heard,” he said.

He vowed the upper chamber would be transparent in whatever will be discussed in the Senate hearings.

“We will not hide anything here and, most importantly, there will be no anomalies like what our fellow lawmakers — Senators Imee, Bato (dela Rosa), and Bong Go — discovered when they went to Davao,” he said.

“The Senate, I repeat, keeps its word. This was our commitment from the very beginning, and we only went off-track because of this ill-fated ‘pekeng initiative’ that was pushed by some quarters with the support of the House of Representatives,” he said.

He added: “That is clear. Nobody believes that they had nothing to do with it.”

Likewise, Villanueva said the Senate would continue to remain vigilant against the PI.

Personal money on PI

“We have been told that if the Senate will tackle RBH 6, we can bid goodbye to the PI. However, we will continue to be vigilant, he said.

“While we are focusing on the RBH 6 hearings, we will continue to guard the actions of our colleagues in the House of Representatives,” he added.

He continued: “Experience has taught us that what they say in the House and what they do can be two different things. We will make sure their words and actions are consistent.”

In a related development, Senator Robin Padilla said he sees nothing wrong with politicians using their own money to advance the People’s Initiative as long as it’s not government funds.

Members of the House of Representatives were accused of using government funds in exchange for signatures during last week’s Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation hearing into alleged payoffs in the signature drive for the people’s initiative.

Proponents of the PI allegedly convinced local government officials and the public to sign the petition for a people’s initiative using public funds such as the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation, DoLE’s TUPAD or Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/displaced workers, and the DoH’s Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients program.

Political patronage?

According to the Commission on Elections, offering free rides and giving out food to voters on election day is considered vote buying.

Under the Omnibus Election Code, vote buying and vote selling are punishable by imprisonment of one to six years.