Romualdez to meet Escudero before Ledac meeting to discuss agendas

MANILA, Philippines — House of Representatives Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said on Tuesday that he would meet Senate President Francis Escudero before the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) meeting in late June to discuss legislative agendas.

In an ambush interview after the inspection of the government’s housing project in San Mateo, Rizal, Romualdez said that he and Escudero were able to talk briefly during the ceremonial signing of Republic Act No. 11997 or the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act.

While it was only a brief meeting, Romualdez said he and Escudero agreed to meet before the Ledac convenes by the third week of June.

“Yesterday, during the ceremonial signing of the law done by PBMM (President Bongbong Marcos) in Malacañang, we talked there, before the signing.  Although it was not a full-out meeting, the Senate president and I agreed that even before the Ledac which will be held in the third week of this month, we will talk,” Romualdez told reporters.

“Of course, there’s also coordination between SP and myself of course, we have each other’s numbers, and then his Majority Leader, Majority Leader (Francis) Tol Tolentino, and Majority (Leader) Mannix Dalipe have coordinated too, so it seems we’re on our way,” he added.

According to Romualdez, they will wait for the Senate to fully organize itself before the meeting.

The Speaker was referring to the recent shakeup in the Senate leadership, as Escudero was elected into the post to replace former Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri last May 20, just two days before Congress’ session adjourned sine die.

READ: Chiz Escudero is new Senate president; Miguel Zubiri out 

“We will allow the Senate to fully organize itself or reorganize itself and the common legislative agenda will be outlined as well as the priority legislation.  Maybe the SP also knows that honestly, there is a lot of work to do, and many of the priority legislative agenda of our President — SONA priorities and Ledac measures have been passed by the House,” Romualdez said.

“So the coordination will be particularly about the bicameral conference committees, on how we reconcile the differing versions and how we will just await the Senate in prioritizing which of the local legislations that we have also passed and transmitted to the Senate will be acted upon.  But our talks with the Senate president have been good,” he added.

When asked if Charter change (Cha-cha) was mentioned, Romualdez said that it was not brought up in his brief meeting with Escudero.  However, the Speaker acknowledged that Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 6 — the Senate’s version of Cha-cha — is still pending.

“Not specifically.  But of course that is one pending measure in the Senate, RBH 6, and the RBH 7, so we’ll get to that,” he noted.

RBH No. 7 — the House version of the economic Cha-cha — was approved on the third and final reading last March 20.  The proposal was mimicked from the Senate’s version, which seeks to amend three provisions in the 1987 Constitution by adding the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law.”

If RBH No. 6 and RBH No. 7 are ratified by voters in a plebiscite handled by the Commission on Elections, the sectors of public utilities, basic education, and advertising will be opened to foreign ownership.

READ: House approves RBH 7 on third reading 

After his ouster, Zubiri said that the Cha-cha proposal in the Senate is as good as dead because Senator Sonny Angara, who handled the subcommittee discussing RBH No. 6, resigned from his post.