HOR, Senate to meet to discuss Cha-cha

The House of Representatives and the new Senate leadership are set to hold a joint meeting to tackle their legislative agenda, including the stalled Charter change (Cha-cha), which was once a division between the two chambers.

Speaker Martin Romualdez reiterated that the House leadership is keen to relax the restrictive economic restrictions of the 1987 Constitution, unfazed by the critics of the move in the Senate.

"The House's objective is economic reforms for the entire Philippines, ensuring that an all-inclusive economy benefits everyone," Speaker Romualdez stated in Filipino during an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair in Tawi-Tawi on Thursday.

Romualdez said he has yet to discuss Cha-cha with newly installed Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero, known vocal against amending the 37-year-old Constitution, but disclosed a meeting for such has been set.

Escudero on Thursday averred that he also plans to hold talks with Romualdez during the congressional recess to bury the hatchet over their diverging stances on Cha-cha.

To recall, the House and the Senate have traded barbs over the latter's reluctance to make Cha-cha happen, with both chambers voting as one body, in fear that it would eliminate the upper chamber from the equation.

In March, the House passed on final reading Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 7, which aims to ease foreign ownership restrictions in public utilities, higher education, and advertising by amending Articles 12, 14, and 16 of the Constitution, which are believed to be hampering the Philippines' economic potential.

The House-approved measure mimics the Senate's RBH 6, which has yet to be approved at the committee level and is now at a crossroads following the resignation of Senator Sonny Angara, chairperson of the Senate subcommittee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes.

Escudero previously said the subcommittee's scheduled hearings in Cebu and Cagayan de Oro would no longer proceed after the major shakeup in the Senate.

Resigned Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri, meanwhile, said that the pending Cha-cha in the Senate is "dead."

Before stepping down from the post, Zubiri announced that passing RBH 6 before Congress adjourns sine die was not among the Senate's priorities.

Zubiri suspected that one of the factors against his ouster stemmed from his objection to the proposed timetable for the passage of Cha-cha.

The 24-member Senate has opposed the House's idea to convene and vote as one body, fearing that it would be outnumbered by 300-plus congressmen.