Senate not doing its job on charter change, says solon
Manila, Philippines — The chair of the House constitutional amendments panel on Wednesday criticized the Senate for not doing anything to amend the 1987 Constitution.
“Senate is not doing its job. That’s precisely the reason why we’re coming up with a finished job,” Rep. Vicente Veloso (Leyte) said in an interview on ANC’s “Early Edition.”
The lower house on Tuesday approved on second reading a proposal to shift to a federal form of government authored by House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo through voice voting.
Under the Resolution of Both Houses 15, the form and structure of the government will be presidential-bicameral-federal.
The draft federal charter seeks to have the president and the vice president elected in tandem but they will have the same powers and functions as in the current constitution. Members of the legislative branch will have a term of four years, as opposed to the current term of three years.
Veloso said the plenary is expected to approve RBH 15 on third and final reading next week.
“The game plan is by Monday, we’ll be finishing our job. We’ll be passing this on third reading and secretary general will refer this to the Senate as a finished job. Now we will wait for the reaction of the Senate,” he said.
While most members of the House—dominated by allies of President Rodrigo Duterte—are enthusiastic about amending the current charter, the Senate has been cool on the matter.
Senators previously said the proposed charter change is “dead” in the upper house, “just waiting to be cremated.”
Even Senate President Vicente Sotto III said that a controversial issue like charter change should not be rushed.
So what will the lower House do? Veloso said “a lot of legal possibilities are on the table.”
He added a taxpayer may file a petition for mandamus before the Supreme Court to compel the Senate to perform its duty.
“There are [a] lot of things the House of Representatives can do,” he said. — Gaea Katreena Cabico
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