Cavite 4th district Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. has admitted that the current "word war" between leaders of the House of Representatives and Senate on Charter Change (Cha-cha) is kind of embarrassing.

He was referring to the tit-for-tat going on between Senate President Juan Miguel (Migz) Zubiri and House Speaker Martin Romualdez and the latter’s fellow Cha-cha advocates like House Committee on Constitutional Amendments Chairman and Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep.  Rufus Rodriguez.

"Nagkakaroon tuloy ng word war...minsan nakakahiya e (A word war has been triggered...sometimes it's embarrassing)," Barzaga told Surigao del Norte 2nd Rep. Robert Ace Barbers Friday, March 17 on his radio program "Kape Kape Muna" aired over DWRB.

"The heads of the chambers of the lawmaking body are quarelling before the public. Dapat e veteran legislators kami, kung ano man ang pinagkakaiba ng opinyon, settle privately (We're already veteran legislators, whatever difference on opinion that we have should be settled privately)," Barzaga said, adding that parliamentary courtesy should be observed.

Barzaga said the verbal exchange began when Zubiri said that the delay in the enforcement of the implementing guidelines of the three laws--the Public Service Act, the Retail Trade Liberalization, and Foreign Investment Act--appeared to be caused by the lower House's push for rewriting the 1987 Constitution’s economic provisions.

Rodriguez has said Zubiri’s allegation was "unfair" to House members, especially the Speaker, who has taken exception to Zubiri's allegations that the House railroaded the passage of the measures calling for a costitutional convention (con-con).

The 314-strong House had earlier chosen the con-con mode in its bid to amend the existing Charter.

"Hindi namin kasalanan 'yun (delay)...Unfortunately now, masama kaagad ang insinuation ni Senate President Migz Zubiri kaya nag-reply na ang ating Speaker at si Chairman Rufus Rodriguez, kaya sinasabi namin kung minsan nakakahiya rin sa publiko (The delay isn't our fault...Unfortunately now, Senate President Migz Zubiri made a bad insinuation, that's why the Speaker and Chairman Rufus had to answer, that's why we're saying sometimes it's embarrassing to the public)," the Cavite solon said.

He said the issuance of the implementing guidelines of the three laws is the act of the executive independent of the action of the House and also of the Senate.

Barzaga, one of the lawmakers who is calling for the amendments to the "restrictive" economic provisions of the Constitution, said the House is in a hurry to have the initiative approved because it wants to save money by holding the election of con-con delegates simultaneously with the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in October.