Cha-cha not Senate priority, says Sotto

MANILA, Philippines — Charter change is not a priority, at least in the Senate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Friday.

“I cannot give an intelligent assessment until I know what they are talking about. There is none in our priorities to that effect,” Sotto told reporters in a message.

Sotto was referring to the somewhat hush-hush passage of a House resolution proposing amendments to the 1987 Constitution.

“Even the term they are using like ‘resolution of both houses of Congress’ is not clear to me. Why? Because that term is merely a definition of either a Joint reso, a Concurrent reso or a simple resolution. So what is it?” he said.

The House constitutional amendments committee led by Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez earlier approved a resolution relaxing the economic restrictions in the 1987 Constitution and extending the terms of local government officials, congressmen, and senators to five years and three terms.

At present, a senator can serve for six years and run for two consecutive times, while congressmen and local elected officials can serve for three years and three consecutive terms.

The resolution also provides the election of the President and Vice President in tandem, as well as increasing the number of senators from 12 to 27, or three per region.

The nine regions were identified as the National Capital Region, Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon, Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Southern Mindanao, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.