SPEAKER Martin Romualdez clarified on what Leyte 4th District Rep. Richard Gomez’s claims that the House approved the constitutional assembly in the 1987 constitutional amendments as what the latter said during the PDP Laban presser held Thursday.
In a statement released by Romualdez Friday, he said that what the House of Representatives approved was the Constitutional Convention mode of amending the restrictive provisions that prohibit the entry of foreign investments.
During the press conference of the PDP Laban, Rep. Richard Gomez said the Speaker already said yes to the constitutional assembly “kasi ang proseso ng House ‘pag hindi pareho yung lakbay namin makikita po sa bicam then we will go for it…because it was debated well, it was heard well, maraming public consultations,” Gomez said.
In his part, the Speaker said “If the Senate wants a different mode, that is their discretion.The House leadership, however, is willing to open discussions with the Senate on their preferred mode of amending the Constitution if that will lead to an agreement between the two chambers.”
He added that the House is open to consider any proposal of the Senate and will submit such proposal to the members.
“This was what I relayed to Rep. Richard Gomez when he informed me that senators are amenable to economic amendments but through Constituent Assembly,” Romualdez said.
However, the Speaker said he commended the efforts of Gomez and Senator Robinhood Padilla in trying to forge an agreement between the House of Representatives and the Senate on the issue.
