Senator Imee Marcos on Thursday challenged her counterparts in the House of Representatives to reveal their true intentions in pushing for the People’s Initiative.

In a radio interview, the lawmaker stressed that it was high time that their House counterparts reveal their true intentions, asserting that the amendments go beyond economic provisions and aim to extend term limits of certain elective officials, including congressmen.

“Let’s get real here. Be honest, sister, that’s my only advice. Let’s not talk about economic matters as a disguise,” Marcos said. “We all know that the intention is not about economic matters. Why not just openly admit what you want?”

Marcos also stressed that the members of the Lower Chamber are just using the economic provisions of the Constitution to advance their personal interests such as term limits.

“If term limits is what they want to discuss, go. Be honest. If what they want to push is parliamentary and presidential which are clearly being discussed there then we should talk about it,” Marcos said. 

To recall, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose “Mannix” Dalipe on Wednesday urged the senators to publicly state their stand regarding the efforts to amend some economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution.

Dalipe made the dare after senators started the deliberation on Resolution of Both Houses 6, which proposes amendments to the “restrictive” economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

Authored by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda and Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, RBH 6 proposes amendments to economic provisions that concern the public services, education, and the advertising industry.

Lawmakers from the Lower Chamber are hoping the upper chamber would approve the resolution by March, which they claimed Zubiri originally promised.

Zubiri earlier said that the Senate would take its time in listening to all sectors before coming up with a decision on the resolution.

“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 during the kickoff of the Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments’ hearing into the RBH 6.

“But we will not be falling into a trap on any 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 added.