RESO NO. 7 PRECLUDES POLITICAL AGENDA IN CHA-CHA — BARBERS
SURIGAO del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said the filing of Resolution of Both Houses No. 7 in the House of Representatives, that seeks to amend the restrictive economic provisions of the Constitution, should finally lay to rest all fears that lawmakers may include political amendments to the 37-year-old Charter.
House leaders led by Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose “Mannix” Dalipe, Deputy Speaker David “Jayjay” Suarez, filed RBH No. 7, the chamber’s similar version of RBH No. 6 being deliberated in the Senate.
According to Barbers, the resolution may be discussed by all members of the House of Representatives constituting itself as a Committee of the Whole in order to exhaustively deliberate on amendments to the economic provisions of the Constitution.
“Napakaimportante na ito ay pag-usapan because amendment ito sa Saligang Batas,” Barbers, the chair of the House committee on dangerous drugs and one of the lawmakers who co-authored RBH 7, said.
“It would be proper that the Committee of the Whole, lahat ng miyembro ng Kongreso, ay mapag-usapan ito at i-elevate ang level of discourse, discussion and debate dun sa usapin na sa aming paniniwala ay maaaring makatulong sa ating ekonomiya: (ang) pag-amyenda ng economic provisions para patunay na wala pong nag-iisip na magkaroon ng political provision amendment sa ating Saligang Batas,” he stressed.
Barbers said the Committee of the Whole is necessary in discussing the said resolution.
For Isabela Rep. Tonypet Albano, the House will use the knowledge gained by the House during the past several years when it comes to amending the Constitution as almost every Congress there are moves to amend the Charter.
“Hindi namin fina-fast-track o nire-railroad ito ha. This amendment of the Constitution has been discussed by previous Congresses and we will get the knowledge from those caravans, those exhaustive studies, the many types of many roadshows that we’ve already done in the past,” Albano said.
“The only difference, moving forward, is we have to do this formally. And if we do it in a Constituent Assembly, with the Committee of the Whole on the part of the lower House, this will be an exhaustive hearing,” he added.
He said the House will invite all experts, especially on the economic front, to participate as resource persons in the exhaustive hearings on the amendments to the restrictive provisions of the Constitution, including economic managers and business chambers.
“Pati yung mga umaangal at tumututol dito sa provisions, we want to hear from them so that we can learn what provisions of the law we can improve for this Constitution. Again … this is not a fast-track method, this will be debated in plenary exhaustively like any other bills, especially … the Constitution,” Albano said.
