Press Release - Robin: End Cha-Cha Word War by Resolving Voting Issue

The Senate and House of Representatives can end a long-running word war over Charter change by acting on a resolution that settles the issue of whether both houses should vote jointly or separately in amending the 1987 Constitution.

Sen. Robinhood "Robin" C. Padilla said his Resolution of Both Houses 7 can be tackled along with ongoing discussions on economic amendments to the Charter.

RBH 7 seeks to amend Section 1 of Article XVII (Amendments or Revisions) in the Constitution to have both houses of Congress voting separately.

"Kasabay po sana natin talakayin ang patungkol sa aking resolusyon na atin pong harapin na, ngayon na, itong patungkol sa voting separately. Sana po ay makasabay nito sa ating padinig patungkol sa pang ekonomiyang probisyon sapagka't sa aking palagay ito na po ang panahon upang linawin natin kung ano man po ang nakaligtaan ng mga bumuo ng 1987 Constitution (Let us tackle RBH 7 now, on voting separately. I hope this can be done simultaneously with hearings on economic amendments because it is high time we resolve what the framers of the Constitution forgot)," he said in his privilege speech late Monday.

"Tayo po ang maging daan upang malinawan, matigil ang kalituhan, at tayo ay magkaroon na ng katahimikan at di na maulit uli ang palitan ng salita, palitan ng mga press release sapagka't ito lamang po ang solusyon... Yan na po ang magbibigay ng closure na talagang ang ating Saligang Batas (We can lead the way to stop the confusion and stop the exchange of words and press releases. This is the only solution... That is the way to bring closure to the issue regarding the Constitution)," he added.

Padilla, who lamented the recent exchange of words between the two houses of Congress, noted that during Monday's hearing of the subcommittee on constitutional amendments, constitutionalists including former Justice Vicente Mendoza were in favor of both houses meeting jointly but voting separately.

He reiterated this issue must be settled first before discussions on other aspects of the Charter can take place.

"Tayo na po ang mag-amyenda at ilagay na natin ang sinasabi ng mga expert sa batas kanina sa Saligang Batas sinasabi nila na nakaligtaan. Kaya po