A LAWMAKER appealed to the leaders of both the House of Representatives and Senate to sit down, settle the feud and discuss privately the issues about Constitutional change instead of quarrelling before the public.

In a statement, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. said it is about time for the two Chambers to observe parliamentary courtesy, stressing that the differences in their opinions on the Constitutional change could have been avoided had the Senate first voted on the measure before announcing that it does not have the numbers to push for it.

“Nagkakaroon tuloy ng word war between the Senate President and the Speaker (Martin Romualdez) and (House Committee on Constitutional Amendments) Chairman Rufus (Rodriguez), minsan nakakahiya e,” he told Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers Friday on his radio program “Kape Kape Muna” aired over DWRB.

“Dapat e veteran legislators kami, kung ano man ang pinagkakaiba ng opinyon, settle privately,” Barzaga added.

Barzaga said the word war started when Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said that the delay in the enforcement of the implementing guidelines of the three laws (1. Public Service Act; 2. Retail Trade Liberalization; 3. Foreign Investment Act) appeared to be caused by the Lower House’s push for rewriting the Constitution’s economic provisions.

Rodriguez said Zubiri’s allegation was “unfair” to House members, especially the Speaker, who has taken exception to Zubiri’s allegations that the House railroaded the passage of the measures calling for a con-con.

“Hindi namin kasalanan ‘yun (delay in the enforcement of the implementing guidelines of the three laws),” Barzaga said. “Unfortunately now, masama kaagad ang insinuation ni Senate President Migz Zubiri kaya nag-reply na ang ating Speaker at si Chairman Rufus Rodriguez, kaya sinasabi namin kung minsan nakakahiya rin sa publiko. The heads of the chambers of the lawmaking body are quarelling before the public. The issuance of the implementing guidelines of the aforementioned three laws is the act of the executive independent of the action of the House and also of the Senate,” he added.

Barzaga, one of the lawmakers who is calling for the amendments to the “restrictive” economic provisions of the Constitution, said the House is in a hurry to have the initiative approved because it wants to save money by holding the election of Con-Con delegates simultaneously with the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in October.

The administration lawmaker said the delegates who crafted the 1973 Constitution were elected simultaneously with the local elections in 1971.

“Kasi kung magkakaroon na naman tayo ng separate elections, in order to determine who shall be the Con-Con delegates ay talagang magastos yan at kukuwestunin na naman ng ating mga kababayan at ng mga critics ng ating administration,” he added.

If the Senate really does not have the numbers, Zubiri could have just ordered Padilla not to proceed with the public hearings anymore because it will only be a waste of time.

Barzaga said that instead of prematurely announcing that it does not have the numbers, the Senate leadership should have just waited for the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments chaired by Sen. Robinhood Padilla to vote on the Cha-cha measure in the committee level and if approved, debates and discussion shall be made later on in the plenary.

“Sana tinuloy na lang yun kay Sen. Robin, sa tingin ko naman, lulusot sa committee level ‘yung proposal e ‘di napag-usapan na lang sa plenary. Mangampanya sila secretly saka bumoto at kung sakaling wala ‘yung (constitutional requirement of) two-thirds (votes), saka sabihin sa publiko, ‘the two-thirds of the Senate are not agreeable,’ but not at this time, that will be premature,” said the senior lawmaker, one of the House’s legal luminaries.

Barzaga also defended Padilla from critics who are questioning the former action star’s qualifications to head his panel, saying there is no rule that the chairman of the Constitutional Amendments Committee must be a lawyer.

“He (Padilla) has the mandate of the people. ‘Di naman kinakailangang abogado ka, kinakailangan lamang alam mo kung ano ang gusto mong baguhin. Kaya nagkakaroon siya ng public hearing, hindi naman siya one-man rule,” he said, pointing out that Padilla led the 2022 senatorial race.

Barbers, who has long been a Cha-cha supporter, agreed with Barzaga, saying that the House and the Senate should appoint representatives to tackle and settle the row now.

While the House’s Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 calls for the election of delegates to a Con-Con to exclusively discuss amendments to the economic provisions, House leaders have admitted that no one can stop the delegates from introducing political amendments once the body is convened.

Earlier, Quezon Rep. David “Jay-jay” Suarez urged senators to keep an open mind and not easily set aside the overwhelming push of lawmakers at the House of Representatives to open inclusive economic provisions of the Constitution to boost foreign investments into the country.

Suarez said the resounding 301 “ayes” that House Bill No. 7352 got when it was put into a vote in the House plenary speaks volumes.

“I am appealing to our honorable senators to consider how HB 7352 passed its third and final reading with a resounding 301 votes. This is an overwhelming vote from the members of the House of Representatives,” Suarez said.