Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (File photo from his Facebook page)
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, a proponent of economic Charter change (Cha-cha) through Resolution of Both Houses No. 7 (RBH 7), ruled out on Tuesday the insertion of political amendments by the bicameral conference committee or the so-called 鈥淭hird Congress.鈥�
鈥淸Our] RBH 7 is identical to [the Senate鈥檚] RBH 6. So there is no chance,鈥� Rodriguez, who chairs the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, said during the plenary deliberation for RBH 7 at the lower chamber.
He was replying to Deputy Minority Leader France Castro,聽who raised the likelihood of further alterations to RBH 7 once it is discussed by a bicameral conference committee.
Castro, an ACT Teachers Party-list representative, cited instances in which bills or resolutions that were already approved on the third and final reading went through 鈥渟ignificant changes鈥� when these were taken up by the said committee. She noted that the House was treating RBH 7 as ordinary legislation in terms of procedure.
READ: Lawmakers again vow: No Cha-cha insertions
鈥淸Fears] that there might be some political amendments will really be unfounded because it鈥檚 very clear in the Senate鈥攖hree Articles: 12, 14 and 16. [It鈥檚 the] same here in the House of Representatives,鈥� Rodriguez said, referring to the three economic provisions in the Constitution being targeted for amendment.
ACT Teacher Partylist Rep. France Castro INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON
No chance
鈥淭here鈥檚 no chance that there will be any change to what we will approve here and what is expected to be approved in the Senate,鈥� he stressed.
A bicameral conference committee is convened to reconcile conflicting provisions in similar bills passed separately by the Senate and House.
At the same time, Rodriguez said that during preliminary hearings held by his committee, the Commission on Elections estimated that it would cost P12 billion to hold a plebiscite to ratify the proposed Cha-cha.
Camarines Sur Rep. Gabriel Bordado Jr. argued that the money would be better spent addressing issues on education, particularly the classroom shortage nationwide, as well as health, housing and public transportation problems.
Not an expense
鈥淸It] is not an expense but an investment for the Filipino nation because the crying need now is to have more investments to be able to give more jobs. So there is no cost,鈥� Rodriguez told him, saying that the government was addressing the country鈥檚 pressing concerns.
鈥淭he primordial need of the times is to have Constitutional change,鈥� he added. 鈥淎ccording to former Chief Justice Reynato Puno, we will never consider [the] cost of the plebiscite as [an] expense but an investment toward the future of the Philippines.鈥�
Bordado, however, insisted that there was no need to go through 鈥渢he costly and time-consuming task鈥� of Cha-cha to boost the economy. 鈥淚nstead, we could continue introducing new legislation and amending existing ones to address pressing economic issues, particularly if urgency is our main concern,鈥� he said.