{"id":1437968,"date":"2021-05-28T05:36:18","date_gmt":"2021-05-27T21:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsinfo.inquirer.net\/?p=1437968"},"modified":"2021-05-28T09:03:53","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T01:03:53","slug":"senators-question-reason-for-cha-cha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinfo.inquirer.net\/1437968\/senators-question-reason-for-cha-cha","title":{"rendered":"Senators question reason for Cha-cha"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Senate<\/a>

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III (Henzberg Austria\/Senate PRIB)<\/p><\/div>\n

MANILA, Philippines \u2014 <\/span>Several senators on Thursday rejected the latest moves by the House of Representatives to amend the 1987 Constitution, saying the changes sought by the purported \u201ceconomic Charter change (Cha-cha)\u201d are already being addressed by several proposed legislation.<\/p>\n

Besides, Senators Vicente Sotto III, Franklin Drilon, Panfilo Lacson, Grace Poe, and Risa Hontiveros questioned the propriety of discussing amendments to the Constitution while the country remains gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

The senators issued separate statements against the proposed House Resolution of Both Houses No. 2, authored by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, which was approved, via voice vote, on second reading on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The measure seeks to add the phrase \u201cunless otherwise provided by law\u201d to reverse the constitutional restrictions on several strategic industries that the Constitution reserved for Filipino citizens.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe phrase will give Congress flexibility in responding to the needs of time. Congress may reduce, remove or restore the economic restrictions as may be called by the prevailing circumstance,\u201d said Ako Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr., chair of the House committee on constitutional amendments.<\/p>\n

But Senate President Sotto said the Senate might no longer have time to \u201ctake a quick look into the proposal to amend the Constitution\u201d and pointed out that several bills, which were certified by Malaca\u00f1ang as urgent, were already in advanced stages in the Senate.<\/p>\n

No compelling reason<\/h3>\n

Lacson agreed and said the so-called \u201crestrictive economic provisions\u201d in the 1987 Constitution are now being addressed by two bills, which the Senate is now trying to reconcile with existing jurisprudence.<\/p>\n

Besides, Lacson said there was no compelling reason to justify amending the Charter, \u201cwithout running afoul\u201d of the constitutional provision on how Congress should vote to muster the two-thirds vote required to approve constitutional amendments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe senators assert that only the Supreme Court can interpret the provision to amend or revise the Charter. The problem is the absence of the cause of action that would trigger the court to act and resolve the matter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Drilon, the Senate minority leader, expressed belief that senators were not inclined to support amendments to the Constitution \u201cat this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c[The matter] was not even in the agenda of the [Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council] meeting yesterday, which means it is not a priority legislation,\u201d Drilon said.<\/p>\n

Poe, on the other hand, said she was wary of a \u201cpiecemeal revision\u201d of the Constitution, which, she said, is a \u201cliving document which holds the aspirations of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should only be revised under the strictest of scrutiny for the right reasons. You don\u2019t just change it on a whim, especially now that everyone is fearful of a creeping invasion on our shores,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Hontiveros expressed dismay over the lawmakers\u2019 \u201cinclination to micromanage the entry of foreign investors, as if these were local franchise approvals.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA, Philippines \u2014 Several senators on Thursday rejected the latest moves by the House of Representatives to amend the 1987 Constitution, saying the changes sought by the purported \u201ceconomic Charter change (Cha-cha)\u201d are already being addressed by several proposed legislation. Besides, Senators Vicente Sotto III, Franklin Drilon, Panfilo Lacson, Grace Poe, and Risa Hontiveros questioned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":1419435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,37],"tags":[62693,206083],"byline":[1086,115845],"source":[206078],"column":[],"editor":[213420],"videographer":[],"position":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSenators question reason for Cha-cha | Inquirer 黑料社<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Several senators on Thursday rejected the latest moves by the House of Representatives to amend the 1987 Constitution.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newsinfo.inquirer.net\/1437968\/senators-question-reason-for-cha-cha\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" 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