Drilon says there is not enough time for Cha-cha

Senate President Franklin Drilon. Photo courtesy of Drilon’s official Facebook page.

MANILA – There might not be enough time to push for President Aquino’s term extension through constitutional amendment, according to Senate President Franklin Drilon.

In a radio interview, Drilon said that the Senate is currently prioritizing the 2015 national budget and the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

Meanwhile, the Congress is also set to discuss Malacañang’s request for Aquino’s emergency powers in order to address the looming power shortage in 2015.

“In the Senate, there are only proposed bills that we have to prioritize and pass right away. There’s the Bangsamoro bill that we have to approve by the first quarter of next year and the national budget for 2015 that we have to finish by December,” he said.

Because of this, the Senate may not have an ample time to deal with a major constitutional amendment, suppose the term extension plans of the President will be pushed through.

“That is why I don’t see that and we don’t have time for that,” Drilon said, referring to Charter change (Cha-cha). “These laws will occupy the calendar of the Senate.”

The senator made the statement amid earlier reports on the President saying that there will always be time for constitutional amendments in case he feels that the people wants his term to get extended.