3 House leaders to Senate: Listen to people’s voice on Cha-cha

MANILA, Philippines — Three leaders of the House of Representatives said that the Senate “should listen to the people’s voice,” as they welcomed and cited a survey showing that  57 percent of Filipinos support the proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution’s restrictive economic provisions. 

In a joint statement on Thursday, Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. David Suarez, and Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe said the results of the survey taken by big data research Tangere from May 21 to 25 “should prompt the new Senate leadership to pass the amendment proposals as soon as possible.”

 “I think the Senate should listen to the people’s voice. New Senate President Francis Escudero should do what his predecessor failed to do, and they should do it as soon as possible,” Gonzales said.  

The lawmakers likewise pointed out that the lower chamber had already passed Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 7 in March this year, while RBH No. 6 is still pending in the upper chamber.

 “RBH No. 6 is now in limbo in the wake of the recent Senate shakeup. We don’t know what will happen to RBH No. 6 since that resolution is authored by Senators Zubiri, Angara, and Loren Legarda, who has also resigned from her Senate post,” Gonzales added.

 Echoing Gonzales’ statement, Suarez said that the Senate, under Escudero’s leadership, should swiftly work on its version of the measure. 

“So far, new Senate President Escudero has spoken on a lot of things, except the proposed economic constitutional amendments,” he said.

 Dalipe, on the other hand, said that the time senators have to pass the measure “is fast closing,” pointing out that the chamber could pass it “after the convening of the third and last regular session of the 19th Congress in July.”

Based on the survey, the number of people supporting the economic cha-cha increased by two percent compared to previous results. 

It added that  1,500 individuals participated in the survey, with most supporters from Metro Manila, Southern Luzon, and the Bicol region. 

“Six to seven in 10 respondents believed in the advantages of the amendment proposals, including the creation of more jobs (72 percent), higher economic growth (68 percent), increase in salaries and work benefits (67 percent), and decrease in the prices of goods and services (63 percent),” the lawmakers said.