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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Drilon: 'Cha-cha bid is like COVID-19 virus that resurrects regularly'

Drilon: 'Cha-cha bid is like COVID-19 virus that resurrects regularly'

Published Jul 28, 2021 02:23 pm

Senate Minority Leader on Wednesday, July 28 slammed some officials in the Duterte administration and lawmakers allied with the President for making a final push for the passage of measures advocating reforms in the 1987 Constitution saying this is like the "COVID-19 virus that resurrects regularly."

“Cha-cha (Charter change) is like the COVID-19 virus that resurrects regularly,” Drilon said in a statement.

The opposition senator added even the President was aware that Charter Change "was already dead on arrival" at the Senate.

"The President delivered the longest SONA (State of the Nation Address) in the post-EDSA era for a total duration of two hours and 45 minutes. That’s the longest that I can remember. Not one minute was devoted to Cha-cha,” the minority leader pointed out.

Drilon noted that while the President devoted a huge portion of his speech asking Congress to prioritize bills that he wants enacted in the next 12 months, the proposed Charter change was deliberately omitted.

“The signal is clear: in the last year of Duterte, he will not dance the Cha-cha,” Drilon said.

Likewise, reiterated there is no need for a so-called economic Cha-cha being pushed by the House of Representatives as these objectives can be achieved by enactment of various economic measures currently pending in Congress.

“The liberalization of the investment climate can be achieved in the major sectors of our economy by the enactment of the proposed amendments to the Public Service Act, the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, the Foreign Investment Act, and the other economic bills in the LEDAC list,” he stressed.

Drilon also pointed out the bills amending the Public Service Act and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, which, with the Foreign Investment Act, will be approved by the Senate in the coming weeks.

“The immediate passage of these measures will help address a number of foreign investment roadblocks and hasten our economic recovery,” he emphasized.

“No chance that the Senators will dance the ‘economic cha-cha’ in the remaining months of the 18th Congress. Dancing the cha-cha is not in the Senate's agenda,” Drilon said.

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