2 senators ask House to ditch Cha-cha signature drive

Official seals of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

MANILA,  Philippines— Warning of a political crisis, two senators on Wednesday asked the House of  Representatives to junk  the people’s initiative (PI) so they could talk again about Charter change (Cha-cha).

“Yan ang  kinakatakutan ko, ang political crisis. Dahil pag nagbangayan ang mababang kapulungan at ang Senado magkakaroon tayo political crisis,” Senator  Sherwin Gatchalian said in a press briefing  at the Senate on Wednesday.

(What I fear is a political crisis because if the lower house and the Senate clash, we will have a political crisis) 

“At ang kinakatakutan ko sa isang political crisis,  walang batas ang maa-approve. Baka yung budget  hindi rin  maaprub dahil nagbabangayan e…” Gatchalian added.

(And what I fear in a political crisis is that no laws may be approved, and the budget may not be approved either due to the conflict.)

For weeks now,  some senators and members of the House of Representatives  have been trading  accusations following bribery allegations in the signature  drive for Cha-cha.

But the signature drive still pushed through,  prompting the  Senate to release on Tuesday a strongly worded manifesto against the people’s initiative.

Now, how can the Senate and the House settle the conflict? 

“Unang-unang dapat gawin, ibasura na yung people’s initiative.  Yan ang unang-unang  dapat gawin. Tapos bumalik na tayo sa pag-uusap kung paano amyendahan yung  Constitution,” Gatchalian said.

(The first thing that should be done is to junk the people’s initiative. That is the very first thing that should be done. Then let’s go back to discussions on how to amend the Constitution)

In a separate briefing, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa directed his appeal to House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

“Isa lang naman pakiusap namin. I-junk nyo yang amendment  na gusto  nyo na voting jointly then tapos na. Let’s go back to square 1, back to the table,”  dela Rosa said when asked if he has  any appeal to the Speaker.

(We have only one request. Junk that amendment you want about voting jointly, and it’s done. Let’s go back to square 1, back to the table.”)

“Huwag lang nyo kaming i-castrate, na magiging powerless  kami, na wala na kaming say, magiging flower vase na lang kami dito, io- over run  na lang  nyo kami ng i over run  anytime you want dahil outnumbered kami parati so  outvoted palagi,”   he said.

(Just don’t castrate us, rendering us powerless, with no say,  that we’ll just become flower vases, and you can overrun us anytime you want because we are always outnumbered and always outvoted.)

In the manifesto signed by all 24 senators, the Senate questioned the proposal  in the  people’s initiative where  the Senate and the House  would have to vote jointly  on  any amendments to the 1987 Constitution .

Amid all this, Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda claimed that the  required number signatures to amend the  Constitution was already reached. 

To amend the Constitution via a people’s initiative,  the law only  requires the signatures of 12 percent of the total voting population, with each legislative district represented by at least 3 percent of the registered voters.