Members of the House of Representatives said Monday they would not attend a Senate hearing on the ongoing people’s initiative to propose a single amendment to the Constitution.
Senator Imee Marcos, who accused congressmen of being behind the initiative in which she said bribes were offered in exchange for signatures, had invited members of the House to the hearing.
But House Majority Leader and Zamboanga City Rep. Manuel Jose Dalipe turned down the invitation, saying lawmakers were too busy with their legislative tasks.
“While we appreciate Senator Marcos’ open invitation to the Senate probe, it seems we in the House have our hands full crafting legislation aimed at enhancing the lives of our fellow Filipinos. It’s a demanding task, but someone’s got to do it,” Dalipe said.
“Perhaps while we focus on building bridges, others seem more inclined to hunt for witches. But rest assured, should our legislative schedule allow, we’d be more than willing to engage in fruitful discussions, preferably ones that construct, not deconstruct, our collective efforts for national progress,” he added.
Congressmen have distanced themselves from the people’s initiative, saying they have nothing to do with it.
They conceded though that it is the people’s ultimate right enshrined in the Constitution to directly propose changes in the Charter.
The Senate is set to begin on Wednesday its probe into alleged “signature buying” for a people’s initiative to amend the Constitution.
Meanwhile, political party leaders in the House declared their support for Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) 6 filed in the Senate, which proposes amendments to three economic provisions in the Constitution.
In a manifesto, the leaders of major political groups in the House also vowed to approve the resolution when it reaches the larger chamber of Congress.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to support the historic endeavor of the Senate in its approval of the Resolution of Both Houses No. 6, and together with our dear Speaker, Honorable Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, we stand firm in our commitment to approve RBH No. 6 in the House of Representatives,” they said.
The resolution is authored by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senators Loren Legarda and Juan Edgardo Angara.
At the same time, House leaders assured senators that the congressmen are not out to abolish the Senate in their push for constitutional reform.
Rizal Rep. Jack Duavit, who heads the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) bloc in the House, along with Deputy Speaker and Ilocos Sur Rep. Kristine Singson-Meehan, Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr., and Bataan Rep. Albert Garcia, the secretary general of the National Unity Party (NUP), said in a statement that any fear that the House is seeking to scrap the Senate “is just in the mind of the one expressing it.”
“With regard to the fears and allegations that the House would want to abolish the Senate, we would just like to let everybody know that as far as our party is concerned, there is no way we will be voting in any form to remove our five senators. And if we are not going to remove our five senators, then the other 19 senators can be assured,” Duavit said at the sidelines of the House party leaders caucus presided by Romualdez, Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) president, which started late Sunday.
The senators belonging to NPC are Legarda, Francis Escudero, Lito Lapid, Sherwin Gatchalian, and Joseph Victor Ejercito. Singson-Meehan, who also belongs to NPC, echoed Duavit’s statement.
“To our Senate friends… as part of the NPC, we have five senators from NPC, and of course we will never abolish them. So we’re here to commit that the abolition of the Senate will never be part of the discussion when we do amend the Constitution,” she said.
The congressmen said they support economic amendments as a way to encourage foreign investments, which will create more jobs.