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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider This solon is 'appalled' by the Senate's anti-Cha-cha stance 

This solon is 'appalled' by the Senate's anti-Cha-cha stance 

Published Dec 18, 2023 08:35 am

At A Glance

  • Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rufus Rodriguez can't help but be "appalled" by what he described as the Senate's "obstructionist stance" toward economic Charter change (Cha-cha). 

FB_IMG_1676011219274.jpgCagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rufus Rodriguez (Facebook)

A ranking solon in the House of Representatives can't help but be "appalled" by what he described as the Senate's "obstructionist stance" toward economic Charter change (Cha-cha).

"We are appalled by the obstructionist stance of the Senate for economic amendments to our Constitution," Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said in a statement Monday afternoon, Dec. 18.

"We are now No. 8 in foreign direct investments in [the] 10-member ASEAN. Alarmingly, We have been overtaken by Vietnam and Cambodia. We are only ahead of Laos and Myanmar," said Rodriguez, chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments.

The veteran congressman had this to say following recent pronouncements from Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri, which betrayed the latter's somewhat lukewarm reception to the House's intention to review discussions on Cha-cha next year.

No less than House Speaker Martin Romualdez announced last week the chamber’s intention to revisit the so--called economic Cha-cha.

Over the weekend, Zubiri said that a public survey must first be carried out to find out the people's "pulse" on the issue.

In a subsequent statement, the Senate chief said reckoned that the Philippines can increase its FDIs by implementing existing laws. He went as far to say that tweaking the 1987 Constitution wasn't needed.

READ THIS TOO:

https://mb.com.ph/2023/12/12/cha-cha-ain-t-dead-house-to-revive-talks-on-constitutional-revision-in-2024-says-romualdez#google_vignette

Rodriguez said: "The Senate President is dead wrong on his stand that laws (statutes) can amend the Constitution. Of course not!"

"The previous laws amending the Public Service Act are now being questioned by at least two petitions in the Supreme Court (SC) for being unconstitutional," noted the Cagayan de Oro lawmakers, considered one of the legal luminaries in the House.

He added that merely amending the Public Service Act to change the constitutional provisions prohibiting or limiting foreign investments "cannot and will not pass constitutional muster".

"We need to open our economy to attract much needed foreign investments in our country. We need to provide more employment opportunities to our people and more business taxes to finance our socials program," he said.

Related Tags

juan miguel migz zubiri Charter change Rufus Rodriguez Cha-cha
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