Clashing chambers ‘now on same page’

Both chambers of Congress are now on the same page on Charter change or Cha-cha, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said.

Marcos said the Senate and the House of Representatives have “arrived at a consensus” to review only the economic provisions of the Constitution.

The passage of Resolution of Both Houses 6, the Cha-cha version of the Senate, is drawing near as the public hearings on the measure are about to end, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said.

RBH 6 seeks to amend restrictive provisions in the Constitution by appending the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” to make them flexible through legislation instead of constantly revising the Charter.

RBH 7, the House of Representatives’ counterpart, was passed on the second reading and is expected to hurdle the chamber next week.

The Senate chief made the remarks during President Marcos’ roundtable interview on Friday afternoon in Prague, Czech Republic.

Asked if the passage of the proposed amendments was on track, Zubiri said, ‘’Yes, we are, with Senator (Juan Edgardo) Angara. We have about three more hearings left, and then we’ll be taking it up in plenary, hopefully putting it to a vote.”

Spadework period

‘’We’re convincing our colleagues... to have a three-fourth vote in this measure. We’re on track,’’ Zubiri added.

Romualdez agreed, announcing that the House had passed RBH 7 on the second reading, marking a significant milestone in its legislative journey.

“So, that is the legislative state of play, as it were. The Senate is continuing with the hearings. The House of Representatives has already passed it on second reading. What is more important than all of that for me is that it is practically the same resolution,” Marcos said.

“We have arrived at a consensus,” he added.

“We all knew this when this began, how contentious this was. Well, we seem to be going down a common road now between the two Houses. So, that’s the, that for me is the important thing,” Marcos added.

He emphasized the alignment between the House and Senate versions of the resolution, indicating a convergence of perspectives despite an earlier clash over the method for revising the Charter.

“But what’s more important to me is that it’s practically the same resolution. And that, for me, is the key point in this process. We have reached a consensus,” Marcos said.

Concerns about bicam

The House has agreed to adopt the Senate version or RBH 6 in its version, but some legislators expressed concern that substantial changes may be introduced in the bicameral conference committee.

“We all remember how contentious this was at the beginning. Well, it seems we’re now on a common path between the two Houses of Congress,” the President said.

The Cha-cha campaign focuses on legislative franchise grants and ownership ratios for public utilities under Article XII, ownership ratios for fundamental educational facilities under Article XIV, and ownership ratios for advertising agencies under Article XVI.

Aside from inserting the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law,” which grants Congress the authority to modify or ease the constitutional limits, there’s also a proposal to append the term “basic” in Article XIV.

The resolutions also reaffirm the constitutional provision empowering Congress to propose amendments “upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members.”