Cut grand vacation

Cut grand vacation | Daily Tribune

Congress must show its sincerity in the ongoing push for Charter change or cha-cha and emphasize the need for the process by cutting short or canceling their long Holy Week break.

Congress will adjourn from 23 March to 28 April to observe a religious rite from 24 March, Palm Sunday to 31 March, Easter, or seven days, which is why it was called Holy Week.

Congress can spend 28 extra days to finish the work on cha-cha since legislators themselves expressed urgency to complete the deliberations.

One way to do this is the President calling a special session, which is provided under the Constitution. However, this is usually undertaken on the advice of both the Speaker and the Senate President.

Another option is for the Speaker and the Senate President to declare that the vacation is off for the moment to tackle the important measure.

The senators, for instance, even raised the need for robing to underline the solemnity of the task of altering the Constitution.

Senator Francis Tolentino compared the cha-cha proceedings to the Congress’ impeachment proceedings and the convening of the Senate as an impeachment court.

In the trial to impeach a high official, the senator-judges wear robes since it is an extraordinary function of the legislators.

Throughout history, the impeachment court was convened twice to try former President Joseph Estrada and the late Chief Justice Renato Corona.

The Senate and the House of Representatives are currently deliberating on their versions of a resolution for holding a constituent assembly to introduce amendments to the economic provisions of the Charter.

The Senate said it would not be rushed into approving its Resolution of Both Houses 6, but the House indicated that it would stick with the pre-Holy Week recess deadline for voting on the resolution proposing amendments to the economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution.

The House members underlined the importance of speeding up the passage of RBH 7 to supposedly “insulate the cha-cha discussions from political innuendos and interpretations.”

Showing their commitment is badly needed amid the widespread suspicions of cha-cha’s hidden agenda.

Based on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s timetable, the proposed revisions from the con-ass debates will be presented to the voters in a referendum that will be held simultaneously with the 2025 national elections.

Maximizing Congress’ sessions would show extreme urgency as the House members have pointed out in several fora.

There is also the danger of cha-cha being sidetracked by the elections as legislators lose their drive to attend to their mundane tasks as the greater call of the election season beckons.

Since the filing of candidacies is in October, the realistic target was for a plebiscite in July to lessen the chances that cha-cha would be politicized.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., however, said his preference is for the plebiscite to be held along with the elections to lessen the expenses for the process.

Marcos had shown full confidence that the amendments would pass and thus clear the hurdles to achieving the full potential of attracting foreign direct investments.

What is being demanded is that legislators apply the determination to match their enthusiasm in undertaking cha-cha.

It would not even require robing themselves for the occasion but only sacrificing some of their time in their over-extended Holy Week recess.

Legislators certainly cannot deny voters their sacrifice of letting go of their yearly vacation to tackle the divisive cha-cha issue.