
SENIOR Deputy Speaker and Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. today reminded senators that the Constitution is silent on the manner of voting on any amendment to it.
“Our basic law does not say whether the House of Representatives and the Senate have to vote jointly or separately on Charter change,” he said.
To drive home his point, Gonzales quoted Section 1, Article XVll (Amendments and Revisions) of the Charter: “Any amendment to, or revision, of the Constitution may be proposed by: 1) The Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members…”
The House leader made the reminder in response to the statement of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who said on Wednesday that “we are very supportive but not with RBH 7, which says that we have to vote jointly, we have to vote separately…”
By RBH 7, Estrada was referring to Resolution of Both House No. 7, which Gonzales and other senior House leaders filed with the House of Representatives last Monday.
The resolution is almost an exact reproduction of RBH No. 6, introduced in the Senate by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senators Loren Legarda and Juan Edgardo Angara.
RBH No. 6 and RBH No. 7 are both entitled, “A Resolution of Both Houses of Congress proposing amendments to certain economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, particularly on Articles Xll, XlV and XVl.”
The proposed House and Senate changes are on the grant of legislative franchises to and ownership of public utilities in Article Xll, and ownership of basic educational facilities in Article XlV and advertising firms in Article XVl.
The suggested principal amendments are the insertion of the phrase, “unless otherwise provided by law,” which would empower Congress to lift or relax present economic restrictions in the nation’s basic law, and the addition of the qualifier “basic” in Article XlV.
RBH No. 7 and RBH No. 6 also restate the provision of the Constitution that Congress may propose amendments “upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members.”
However, in their resolution, after “…all its members,” Zubiri, Legarda and Angara added the phrase “each House voting separately.”
Gonzales explained that while their resolution is almost a word-for-word reproduction of RBH No. 6, they dropped the phrase “each House voting separately.”
“Those four words are not in the Constitution. Our colleagues in the Senate cannot and should not insist on that language. I am not a lawyer, but that is unconstitutional, as lawyers would say. We in the House chose to be true to our basic law by quoting exactly what it says, no more, no less,” he said.
As for Estrada’s and Zubiri’s appeal for congressmen to listen to the statement of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that the Senate should take the lead on economic Charter reform, Gonzales said, “We heeded the President’s appeal the first time he articulated it early last month.”
“The House, led by Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, is following the President’s wish, which he reiterated on Monday. In fact, we took it to heart the first time he conveyed it to leaders of Congress,” he said.
“Nauna ang Senate sa pag-file ng RBH No. 6 last Jan. 15. Sumunod lang kami nung Lunes, when we filed RBH No. 7. Naka-dalawa o tatlong hearing na sila sa kanilang resolution, while we are to begin deliberations on ours on Monday,” Gonzales stressed.
“Clearly, as the President has desired, which desire we congressmen led by our good Speaker respect, it is the Senate that is taking the lead in proposing economic Charter amendments,” he stressed.
Aside from Gonzales, the other authors of RBH No. 7 include Deputy Speakers David Suarez, Kristine Singson-Meehan and Antonio Albano, Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, Senior Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, and Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez, Jude Acidre, Zaldy Co, LRay Villafuerte, Eleandro Jesus Madrona, Johnny Pimentel, Jesus Jurdin Romualdo, Wilfrido Mark Enverge, Jose Aquino ll, Brian Raymund Yamsuan, Angelina Natasha Co.