Zamboang 2nd District Rep. Manuel Jose Dalipe (Fromhis Facebook page)
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate’s own push for Charter change shows that the House of Representatives leadership has been right all along in asking for amendments to the economic provisions of the Constitution, Zamboanga City 2nd District Rep. Manuel Jose Dalipe said in a statement on Wednesday.
“This marks the first time the Senate has agreed to amend the Constitution, vindicating the House’s 37-year-long pursuit of constitutional reforms,” Dalipe said.
“It also reaffirms our position under Speaker Romualdez that constitutional amendments are essential to keeping pace with the rapidly evolving global economy.”
Dalipe was referring to the Senate’s decision — relayed by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri — to heed calls to amend the Constitution. Zubiri led the filing of a resolution seeking to rewrite specific economic provisions last Monday.
The resolution filed was the Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 — which was passed by the House last March 2023 but was not attended to by the Senate.
READ: Romualdez backs Zubiri-led resolution to tweak Constitution
READ: Done deal? Zubiri says House OK to adopt Senate version of Cha-cha
The Senate’s decision comes nearly a month after Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and several other House leaders called for the discussion of constitutional amendments, particularly to the country’s economic provisions — in the hope of attracting more foreign investments.
The resolution encountered some opposition in the Senate, as proposals asked that the Senate and the House vote jointly — which means the vote of 24 senators may be overturned by over 300 House members, making them a minority in the voting process.
Sen. Imee Marcos also said that calls for Charter change were only initiated because some people would want to be voted as prime minister, but Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. maintained that proposed amendments were purely focused on economic provisions.
“The Speaker is happy that the Senate has finally recognized the need for constitutional amendments. We’ve tirelessly worked for economic reforms through charter change but this was consistently opposed by the Senate. Now, it can be told that we were right all along,” Dalipe said.