The ongoing attempt to amend the Constitution via a people’s initiative (PI) is an “assault on checks and balances and bicameralism” intended to prevent Congress from abusing its power, Senator Jinggoy Estrada said Wednesday.
In a privileged speech, Estrada said “the move to overwhelm theSenate’s 24 votes with the House of Representatives’ over 300 votes is nothing short of an affront to the principles of bicameralism and the checks and balances that underpin our democratic framework.”
People’s Initiative for Reform Modernization and Action (PIRMA) National Lead Convenor Noel Oñate earlier admitted that the purpose of the group’s proposal that amendments to the Constitution be decided by senators and congressmen “voting jointly” and not “separately” is intended to “dilute” the Senate vote.
Estrada emphasized in his speech that “the idea that a simple joint vote could render our bicameral system meaningless is not only an insult to this august institution but a betrayal of the trust the people have placed in us.”
“Any attempt to undermine the independence and integrity of this Senate should be met with resolute opposition. We are the defenders of the people’s will, and we cannot allow maneuvers that undermine the very foundations of our democratic system.”
In her interpolation of Estrada’s speech, Sen. Pia Cayetano pointed out that “since the 1935 Constitution, we have been voting separately. There is always a bicameral conference of both houses.”
The points made by the two senators echo the main arguments of a statement signed by all 24 senators condemning the people’s initiative allegedly backed by the leadership and members of the House of Representatives.
In the statement, senators warned that the House with its over 300 members, “can force Charter change because it easily outnumbers the 24-member Senate.”
“It is ridiculous that the Senate, a co-equal chamber of the House, necessary to pass even local bills, will have a dispensable and diluted role in Charter Change—the most monumental act of policymaking concerning the highest law in the land,” lamented the senators in the statement.
Senators also pointed out that the Senate would be powerless to stop even the most radical proposals, including permitting foreign land ownership and the removal of term limits.