'Very divisive': Binay says Senate not receptive to 'Cha-cha'

Senator Nancy Binay on Friday, February 10 said most senators are lukewarm to the latest attempt to amend the 1987 Constitution.

Binay explained more senators are concerned over pressing issues such as the rising inflation and the global recession.

“So far during our informal talks, it seems the Senate is not that receptive to the idea,” Binay said during an interview with reporters.

“In the first place, there are so many things to change, there are so many things to prioritize like this problem we have on inflation and a potential global recession,” she said.

The senator pointed this out following Sen. Robin Padilla’s recent filing of Resolution of Both Houses No. 3, which seeks to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution through a constituent assembly (con-ass).

However, Binay said most of the senators believe the amendments to the Public Service Act (PSA) and the Trade Liberalization Act—which are all designed to attract direct foreign investments—are already sufficient. Other senators who thumbed down the proposal were Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III and Sen. Grace Poe.

“I think the amendments we did in the PSA is already sufficient to encourage foreign investors,” she said.

‘Very divisive’

Binay also said insisting on amending the Constitution at this time could only derail any efforts of the government to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We just came from the pandemic. Let’s first prioritize any moves to rise from its negative impact,” she said.

“It is also very divisive. We will go into another intense argument if we open it up for discussion,” she said.