House open to discuss Senate’s preferred way to amend Charter, Romualdez says
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (File photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)
MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives is not closing its doors to discussing the preferred mode of the Senate in amending or revising the 1987 Constitution, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said on Friday.
Romualdez set the record straight, noting that this is what he told Leyte Rep. Richard Gomez, who claimed on Thursday that he had convinced the Speaker to back Charter change through a constituent assembly (con-ass).
READ: Gomez says he convinced Romualdez to back con-ass to amend 1987 Constitution
Romualdez stressed that the lower chamber had already approved on final reading a bill seeking to establish a constitutional convention (con-con) to relax the restrictive economic provisions in the 36-year-old Charter.
READ: House passes bill to implement RBH No. 6 for creation of con-con to amend charter
“If the Senate wants a different mode, that is their discretion. The House leadership, however, is willing to open discussions with the Senate on their preferred mode of amending the constitution if that will lead to an agreement between the two chambers,” he said in a statement.
Senator Robin Padilla, the main proponent of charter change in the upper chamber, is pushing for constitutional reform via con-ass.
READ: Senate, House clash over charter change mode
Romualdez maintained that he remains receptive of any proposal from the Senate on the bid to change the constitution and will likewise relay it to the members of the lower chamber.
While the pitch to amend or revise the economic provisions of the constitution already secured the final nod of the House, its fate is seemingly dim in the Senate with not enough legislators backing the bid.
No less than Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri bared that almost half of the senators he had spoken to were against constitutional reform, especially after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared it not a priority of his administration.
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