LAWMAKERS on Monday rejected a call for President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to intervene in persuading senators to support the economic amendments to the Constitution, deeming it unnecessary and an excessive demand on the Chief Executive.
“A call to the President asking him to convince senators further, I think, is a little bit too much on the President, given that the President has already mentioned it many times in many occasions, given that the President has stated his position on economic amendments na kinakailangan na po talaga ng bansa ang [economic Charter change],” Deputy Speaker and Quezon 2nd District Rep. David “Jay-jay” Suarez said during the regular press conference at the House of Representatives.
Suarez reacted to a radio interview by Sen. Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate subcommittee on Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 (RBH 6), urging Marcos to assist in convincing senators as he recognized the difficulty of garnering the three-fourths majority or 18 signatures required to pass the resolution in the upper chamber.
The Deputy Speaker reiterated the urgency of economic amendments for the country’s progress, stressing that the need is evident and further persuasion should not be necessary.
He pointed out the declining educational and economic performance of Filipinos, affirming the pressing need for constitutional amendments.
“The writing is very clearly written on the wall,” Suarez stressed. “So ano pa bang pagkukumbinsi ang kinakailangan natin dito?”
Suarez acknowledged Angara’s position, but emphasized the House’s unwavering support for economic Charter amendments.
“Kami naman dito sa House clearly from where we stand, the country needs it, the Filipino people need it, our economy needs it; and if you want to push the country forward, the next generation of Filipinos need it,” Suarez remarked.
For his part, 1-RIDER Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez underscored the clarity of the President’s stance during the Philippine Constitutional Day celebration organized by the Philippine Constitutional Association (Philconsa) last month.
“On that statement po ni Sen. Angara I think the messaging was clear. It was made very, very clear. For us at least, the signal from the President was when we were celebrating [Philippine] Constitution Day when he spake before Philconsa na tuloy po dapat ang Cha-cha,” Gutierrez recalled.
“So, I do not see any reason how our good colleagues in the Senate would need any more convincing po,” he added.
The minority solon likewise emphasized the need for senators to base their decisions on the merits of RBH 6 itself rather than relying on further convincing from personalities.
“All the convincing that they need should be done sa sub-committee,” Gutierrez said.
“We just want to renew our calls for them to just stick to iyong RBH 6 nila, hear out the research persons and really push for it,” he added.
RBH 6 mirrors the content of RBH 7, which is also currently being deliberated in the Senate, aimed at amending specific economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution concerning public utilities, education, and advertising.
The proposed amendment seeks to insert the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” to give Congress the flexibility to amend specific constitutional provisions, which restrict foreign ownership and participation on certain investment areas and activities in the country.
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