Senate seen to junk Cha-cha

MANILA, Philippines — It seems that not everyone in the Senate is on board with Charter change. Sen. Cynthia Villar said “there’s a chance” that seven senators, including herself and four other allies of President Marcos, would vote against the proposed measure to amend certain economic provisions of the Constitution.

“They claim they are only after the economic provisions. But when they open up the Constitution, nobody can stop them from changing other provisions, including the political portions. That’s not good,” Villar noted over the weekend.

Earlier, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III said he and up to eight other senators had already decided to vote against Resolution of Both Houses 6 (RBH6) – which seeks to amend select economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution – and among those who would definitely block its passage was Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros.

Instead of amending the Constitution, Villar said that business groups want the government to focus on the effective implementation of the ease of doing business law and addressing the problem of corruption.

“I have talked to other businessmen. Actually, what they want is the ease of doing business and less corruption,” Villar said.

She maintained that the ongoing proposal to amend certain economic provisions of the Constitution would not really make an impact on the economy, and noted that efforts to improve the country’s economy could be addressed through legislation.

Pimentel agreed with Villar that the government could help improve the lives of Filipinos without the need to amend the Constitution.

He said the government could initiate programs to promote the fight against corruption, ensure ease of doing business, improve food production to address inflation, organize the education of the youth so that they are prepared for the future, lower electricity costs and take care of the elderly, retirees, and people with disabilities.

“We have noticed that this already leads to a big change towards the progress of Filipino life. There is no need for constitutional amendments,” Pimentel said in a Viber message to The STAR.

He added that the government should also ensure a very