FILE PHOTO: Senator Robinhood Padilla during a public hearing on February 21, 2023. (Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — While acknowledging that his bid seemingly lacks support in the upper chamber, Senator Robinhood Padilla has remained hopeful that more colleagues will join his Charter change (Cha-cha) train once it is discussed at the plenary.
The neophyte legislator on Monday said he does not see the pronouncement of Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri as a hindrance to the public hearings being conducted by the Senate panel on constitutional amendments and revision of codes. Padilla is the main proponent of Cha-cha in the Senate and the chairperson of the panel.
Zubiri earlier claimed that there are not enough numbers in the Senate that can tip things in favor of the move to amend or revise the 1987 Constitution.
READ: No numbers to push charter change in Senate – Zubiri
“Sa akin ay tuloy-tuloy lang ako. Hindi ko po nakikita na parang ako pinipigilan niya (On my part, I will just continue. I don’t see it as if he’s stopping me from continuing),” Padilla told reporters.
Padilla said he remains rooted in his goal to continue conducting consultations with the public on issues concerning the proposal to change the 36-year-old Constitution.
Then asked how he feels about claims that there are only about four or five senators open to discussing Cha-cha, Padilla said he remains upbeat that he can still mount more support for the proposal.
“Baka sakaling kapag nadala sa plenaryo, eh baka po sakaling madagdagan ang numero. Inaasahan ko na iyan. Hindi ko inaasahan na magiging madali (Maybe when brought to the plenary, maybe the number will increase. I’m already expecting that. I am not expecting that it will be easy),” he added.
Padilla likewise expressed belief that once his colleagues – who trust that constitutional amendments will only be limited to economic provisions – carefully study the committee report and hear his arguments in the plenary, his Cha-cha proposal will pass the Senate.
But he also said that if his bid for Cha-cha dies in the Senate, he will respect the decision.
“Ganoon po talaga…Ang kailangan lang magtuloy-tuloy. Huwag ka masiraan ng loob. Kasi talagang pakikibaka ito. Hindi ito makukuha sa santong-dasalan o santong-paspasan; ito makukuha sa debate,” Padilla said.
(That’s really how it is…What we need is to just continue. Not to lose hope. Because this is really a struggle. It cannot be achieved through fervent prayers alone or by rushing; it’s up for debate.)
Following the series of public hearings across the country, Padilla said he will speak with former President Rodrigo Duterte to discuss his next steps before drafting the committee report.
He said he aims to have the committee report ready for plenary debates in June so it can be decided by August.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier said that the Philippines can secure foreign investments without constitutional reform. He also noted that the move to change the Constitution was not among his administration’s priorities, saying there were many other things that needed to be prioritized.
READ: Charter change not needed to get foreign investments – Marcos
But last week, the House of Representatives—led by Marcos’ cousin Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez—overwhelmingly approved on its third and final reading Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 6 that calls for a “hybrid” constitutional convention to reform the Charter.
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