House keeps March deadline on passing Charter econ amendments

Session Hall of the House of Representatives. (PNA Photo by Joan Bondoc via Philippine News Agency/Facebook)

MANILA – The House of Representatives will stick with the pre-Holy Week recess deadline for voting on the resolution proposing amendments to the economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong stressed the importance of expediting the passage of Resolution of Both Houses 7 (RBH 7) to insulate it from political innuendos and interpretations.

“I personally would want this discussion on the economic provision done before the break for the Holy Week. Actually, that’s the original plan,” Adiong said.

Congress will adjourn on March 23 to April 28.

Adiong expressed concern about the idea of conducting plebiscite for economic constitutional amendments concurrent with the 2025 midterm elections, warning that it might get politicized.

“Personally, I would want that to end as soon as possible time because come 2025, it would be an election season. And the reason why we are fast-tracking this discussion, this amendment is we want to insulate this from political innuendos and political interpretation. This might be used as a campaign slogan,” Adiong said.

“So if we want to pass that and simultaneously doon sa (with the) holding of the election, this will open up to several political interpretations and this might be used as a political campaign and masisira ang pinaka-intention ng administration (and the administration’s goal will be sullied),” Adiong added.

He said amending the economic provisions of the constitution has been a clear priority of the Marcos administration.

“It’s very clear that the President wants to push for the changing, amending the provisions in the Constitution particularly the economic provision. So what we’re doing here in the House of Representatives is to translate that priority and policy of this current administration,” Adiong said.

PBA Party-list Rep. Margarita Nograles said the House is focused on deliberating on the economic reforms, citing the importance of setting “specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound” goals while awaiting further directives from the President.

“As far as the House is concerned, patuloy po ‘yung trabaho (our work continues) and we will exhaustively look into the economic revisions in the Constitution and hear the different resource persons while looking into RBH 7,” Nograles said.

1-RIDER Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez, meanwhile, urged senators to consider avoiding an extension of the deliberations and approval of its version of the proposed economic amendments under RBH 6 before the sine die adjournment.

“But of course, again, we would urge our colleagues in the Senate, at least as priority, hopefully we don’t extend it all the way to sine die. I think it’s possible naman that we have a fruitful exhaustive discussion which still follows the original na sinabi nilang (that they’re saying) can be finished before Holy Week,” he said.