Rodriguez

Rufus: Senate must not ‘ignore’ Cha-cha initiative

March 13, 2023 Ryan Ponce Pacpaco 243 views

THE chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments on Monday said the Senate should not “ignore” the overwhelming sentiment of members of the larger chamber for rewriting the Constitution’s economic provisions.

Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Representative Rufus Rodriguez made the statement in reaction to remarks by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri that it would be “useless” for senators to tackle Charter change since there would be “no vote” for it in his chamber.

“The Senate cannot and should not ignore our initiative, which is an expression of the people’s consensus we gathered in our recent nationwide public hearings and consultations,” he said.

He said 301 of the 314 House members manifested such consensus by voting for Resolution of Both Houses No. 6, which urges Congress to convene a constitutional convention (Con-con) to rewrite the Charter’s “restrictive” economic provisions.

“Inter-chamber courtesy calls that the Senate tackles any measure passed by the House, especially if it is approved by an overwhelming vote and requires urgent attention, and vice versa,” Rodriguez stressed.

He pointed out that Zubiri, who claims he is for Charter reform, should not be afraid of the result of the Senate vote on the matter.

“Let the people know who are against and who are for reform that could result in more foreign companies investing or expanding their businesses in the country,” he added.

The House approved the resolution last Monday. A chamber is scheduled to vote on Bill No. 7352, which implements the resolution.

Rodriguez also urged senators to take cognizance of the assessment of Fitch Solutions, a unit of credit rating and financial market research firm Fitch Ratings, that constitutional, economic reform could improve the investment and economic climate in the country.

According to Fitch Solutions, the present economic provisions of the Constitution have always been a “challenge” for foreign investors.

“We need more foreign capital to create more jobs and income for our people, to reduce the number of unemployed among those with employable skills,” he said.

He noted reports that the unemployment rate in the country rose to 4.8 percent in January this year from 4.3 percent in December last year.

The figure translated to about 2.3 million jobless workers, many of whom were in the construction sector.

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