Senate, House leaders urged to hold talks to break Cha-cha stand-off

To break the impasse on Charter change (Cha-cha), Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III on Wednesday proposed that leaders of both chambers of the Congress sit down and agree on how they should vote on the issue.

During a caucus Tuesday, the senators “unanimously” agreed that the Senate and the House of Representatives should vote separately if a Con-ass pushes through.

“Ang usapan kahapon kung ipipilit nila Con-ass na voting jointly, wala silang (House) aasahan na makikisamang myembro ng Senado. Ngayon kung voting separately then we can sit down and talk,” Sotto told reporters.

“As I said what I can see now perhaps the leadership of both Congress should sit down and discuss it. Yun ang win-win solution. At kung ano dapat galawin kung may dapat galawin (sa Constitution),” he added.

In amending the 31-year-old 1987 Constitution, lawmakers could either opt for a constitutional convention (Con-con) where members of the body would be voted by the people, or legislators would convene in a Con-ass to revise the Charter.

When asked about his position on a Con-ass or Con-con mode of revising the Constitution, the Majority Leader said “it depends” on what changes they wanted to make.

“Depende. The answer is kung gusto mo talaga buklatin yung buong Constitution, therefore Con-con talaga ang dapat. Pero kung may aamyendahan ka lang na mga 3 or 4 points pwede na yung Con-ass,” he said. “Mas mura nga sabi nga nila. Pero depende ano gusto nyo pag-usapan o ano gusto nyo galawin.”

But if Congress would push for a shift to a federal form of government, Sotto said a Con-con would be a better option.