House member calls out senator amid Cha-cha dispute

 

MANILA, Philippines — Deputy Speaker David Suarez on Wednesday  asked Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva to stop resorting to name-calling after the latter supposedly belittled members of the House of Representatives.

Suarez made the call in a press briefing  when he and Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers were asked to comment on Villanueva’s remarks — which were in response to House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe’s challenge for senators to reveal their stand on constitutional amendments.

Dalipe on Tuesday dared all 24 senators to publicly state their stand regarding constitutional amendments so that the people will see whom they would vote for in the 2025 midterm elections.

Villanueva responded to reporters seeking his comments by asking who Dalipe is.

According to Suarez, what the House only wants is to elevate discussions about the proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution’s economic provisions.

“With respect do’n sa opinion ni…. sino nga ulit ‘yon… sino’ng nagsabi… sino ‘yon?” Suarez joked, before turning serious. 

“Hindi, I mean, look: it was the majority leader of Congress, they know each other. So, let’s not… this is why kami sa Congress gusto namin i-elevate ‘yong discussion, pag-usapan natin ‘yong merits no’ng amendments.”

(With respect to the opinion of… who is he again… who said that?  No I mean, look: it was the majority leader of Congress, they know each other.  So, let’s not… this is why we in Congress want to elevate the discussions, let’s discuss the merits of the amendments.)

“So I mean, I would like to remind the good Majority Leader of the Senate na wala naman tayong name calling at pagmamaliit (let’s stop name-calling and belittling lawmakers),” he added.

Suarez also reminded Villanueva that a lot of lawmakers were offended with his remarks weeks ago, when the senator allegedly belittled some of the district and party-list lawmakers as they only get a smaller vote compared to senators during elections.

Barbers meanwhile said that Dalipe may have issued the challenge because the House really believes that acting on Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 6 is urgent, to ensure economic progress in the country.

RBH No. 6, a resolution calling for changes in the Constitution’s economic provisions, was adopted by the House last March 2023. 

The Senate started deliberations on their version of RBH No. 6 last Monday, but officials said that the talks may last up to October 2024.