Senate President Francis Escudero and Speaker Martin Romualdez. —Senate Prib and House of Representatives FB photo
MANILA, Philippines—Senate President Francis Escudero and Speaker Martin Romualdez are expected to meet next week to mend fences over their differences on various legislative measures, including divorce and Charter change (Cha-cha).
“That would be one of the topics, I’m sure,” Escudero told reporters when asked if they would discuss the two controversial measures during the meeting.
According to him, he had a brief talk with Romualdez at the sidelines of the ceremonial signing of Republic Act No. 11997, or the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act, in Malacañang on Tuesday night.
READ: Romualdez upbeat on House partnership with Senate under Escudero
He said they aim to discuss priority measures of both chambers ahead of the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) meeting scheduled on June 25.
“We agreed to meet next week. Our offices will meet to discuss the incoming Ledac and the agenda of the Senate, taking into account the agenda of the members of the House of Representatives,” he said, adding that they wanted to focus on measures that have higher chances of being approved by the chamber.
“Why would the House waste its time on things that are not approved by the majority of the Senate? In the same manner, why would the Senate waste its time on things that will not be approved by the House? We want to focus our attention on things that the House and Senate can agree on,” he pointed out.
However, no definite date for the meeting between the two leaders of Congress has been scheduled.
READ: House solons urge Senate to consider passing economic Cha-cha
Priority measures
In an interview, Romualdez also said that House Majority Leader Jose Manuel Dalipe and his Senate counterpart, Sen. Francis Tolentino, were coordinating on how to better deliver on the priority measures of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“They are coordinating as well, so it looks like we’re on our way. We will allow the Senate to fully organize or reorganize itself, and then we will outline the common legislative agenda and priority legislation,” he explained.
Romualdez noted that Escudero and the other new leaders of the Senate were aware that the House had already passed all the Ledac priority measures of the President.
He pointed out that the House would also wait for the Senate to prioritize which local legislation, already passed and transmitted to the Senate, would be acted upon.
During a Ledac meeting, the President, as chair, confers with the Vice President, the Senate President, the Speaker and Cabinet secretaries to discuss policies needed to achieve the government’s goals.
The priority legislative measures of the President are also identified during Ledac meetings so that Congress can prioritize their passage into law.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Tolentino, their counterparts and other Congress officials are expected to join their meeting, added Escudero.
Cha-cha stance remains
Escudero also emphasized earlier that his anti-Charter change stance would not change as he took over the Senate presidency.
His predecessor, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, who resigned last May 20, authored RBH No. 6 along with Senators Loren Legarda and Juan Edgardo Angara.
The Senate’s RBH 6 is an exact copy of the House’s RBH No. 7, which seeks to amend Articles 12, 14 and 16 (which limit foreign ownership in public utilities, educational institutions and advertising) of the Constitution.
The House approved RBH 7 on the third and final reading in March, but the Senate version did not even reach subcommittee approval.
The House has been extensively lobbying to loosen up foreign ownership restrictions in the country’s public utilities, educational institutions and advertising industry to drive up investments and boost the economy.
Its lawmakers had been hoping for RBH 7 to be passed in the Senate before October, right before the filing of candidacies for the 2025 midterm elections.
But the Senate under former Senate President Zubiri has not been as welcoming, as it staged an inquiry into the legality of a people’s initiative also seeking economic Charter change that preceded the House’s RBH 7.
Escudero has been vocally anti-Cha-cha himself but has expressed openness to deliberation.
No to absolute divorce
Escudero is against a measure that would allow an absolute divorce in the country.
Instead of a divorce bill, he said the existing process of annulment under the Civil Code should be made more affordable and accessible to Filipinos.
“I’m not sure of the exact number of those who are in favor and those who are not, but it’s not something engraved on a rock. As I’ve said, unless we allow and open it during the period of amendments, we would not determine if the votes supporting the proposed measure on divorce would increase or decrease,” he noted.
The Senate committee on women, headed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, approved the divorce bill in September last year, but the measure remains pending before the Senate committee on rules.
A counterpart measure, on the other hand, was approved in the House of Representatives before Congress went on break on May 22.
Meanwhile, Escudero said he had a lunch meeting with former Senate President Vicente Sotto III and former Sen. Panfilo Lacson to seek advice in handling his new position.
“I sought advice from those who held the position before me because I accept that I do not know everything about my current post,” he said.
“Most of their advice was about the administrative function in the Senate,” he added. “Our conversation went well, we reminisced about the good times we had, and I hope it will happen again if ever they decide to run for the Senate.”