Senators urged: Be open to Cha-cha

MANILA, Philippines — Senators should be open to proposals to change certain economic and political provisions of the three-decade-old Constitution, according to the House of Representatives said.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano made this appeal over the weekend, saying that the key to moving the Charter change (Cha-cha) initiatives of several congressmen forward “will be the relationship of the House of Representatives with the Senate.”

“If senators say we don’t want it, that would be the end for Cha-cha. But we are hoping senators will be open-minded to it,” he said.

Noting that the United States Constitution has been amended several times, Cayetano said the country’s Charter is not a document that cannot be changed.

“So there are things that can change, and we’re just not putting it in front and center because we don’t want controversy while we’re passing the budget and other priority measures,” he said.

He added that at the “risk of being bashed,” he would propose that one amendment lawmakers should consider is lengthening the three-year term of office for local officials.        

“Local government units lack planning, so you need at least four years or possibly five years. Senators have six years, that’s why they can have a longer view,” Cayetano stressed.

He pointed out that after his chamber has finally passed the final version of the proposed P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020, some revenue bills and other priority measures, he would like to see the recommendations of the House committee on constitutional amendments.

The committee chaired by Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, has been conducting hearings on resolutions to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution to relax restrictions on foreign ownership of land and businesses, and on the term of office of lawmakers and local officials.            

Among the authors of the resolutions are Rodriguez and Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga.

After his initial consultations, Rodriguez said there was “consensus among our resource persons and our colleagues in the House to push for economic Cha-cha.”

“It was felt that allowing more foreign equity participation could lead to more investments, and more investments would mean more income and jobs for our people,” he said.

Various business groups, including the Joint Foreign Chambers, Makati Business Club and the Management Association of the Philippines, have supported the proposed relaxation of lifting of foreign ownership limitations.

Rodriguez said there was also consensus on the proposal to lengthen the term of office of House members and local officials from the present three years to four years or five years.

Gonzales said the prevailing sentiment among lawmakers and LGU officials is that the three-year tenure is too short for them to institute meaningful reforms and projects in their districts, provinces, cities and towns.

He said the present three-term limit would be retained. 

If the House recommends a five-year tenure for congressmen and local officials, it would most likely propose that senators would have a term of office of five years as well, instead of six years, because of the constitutional mandate of synchronizing elections.

In the past, Cha-cha did not move forward in Congress because the House was insisting that it could do it alone without the participation of the Senate as long as it obtained the required three-fourths vote “of all members of Congress” for any amendment, even if those members were all congressmen.

There was even a suggestion to convince even just one senator to vote with House members so they could claim Senate participation on Cha-cha.