Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva (Facebook)

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva continues to draw flak for his supposed belittling of solons from the House of Representatives. 

House Deputy Speaker Quezon 2nd district Rep. David "Jay-jay" Suarez and Surigao del Norte 2nd Rep. Robert Ace Barbers gave a dressing down of Villanueva on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 7 after they learned about the Senate official's response to the challenge of House Majority Leader Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep. Mannix Dalipe. 

It was Monday, Feb. 6 when Dalipe dared all 24 senators to bare their cards on Charter change (Cha-cha)--so to speak--so the public may know black and white whether or not they are in favor of it. 

To this challenge, Villanueva has been quoted as saying, "Who is he?" in apparent reference to his House counterpart Dalipe. 

"Marami na ngang nasaktan dun sa mga sinabi mo nung nakaraang linggo, daragdagan mo pa," Suarez said of Villanueva, a former party-list congressman, during a press briefing. 

(You already hurt a lot of people with what you said last week, and here you go again.) 

MUST READ: 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/2/6/open-cards-tayo-dalipe-asks-24-senators-whether-or-not-they-support-cha-cha 

It was last week when Villanueva claimed that senators cannot be compared to party-list solons or congressmen since the latter receive way less votes during elections. 

"I would like to remind the good majority leader of the Senate na wala naman tayong name-calling at pagmamaliit (no name-calling and belittling please)," said the legislator from Quezon. 

Barbers, for his part, reminded Villanueva of a thing called inter-parliamentary courtesy between the House and the Senate. 

"This is where [inter-]parliamentary courtesy should come in. There must be some respect in opinion of the member. Wag nating umpisahan ng ganyan kasi hindi magandang pangitain yun ika nga," said the Committee on Dangerous Drugs chairman. 

(Let's not start that because that could be a bad portent, as they say.) 

"If the [House] majority leader has posed a challenge to them, it is because he is just thinking the proposal is an urgent proposal and it should be addressed if possible as soon as possible. Wag na nating i-delay (It should not be delayed)," Barbers said. 

The Mindanaoan is referring to the Senate's Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No.6, the passage of which is eagerly being awaited by House members. RBH No.6 seeks to create a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) in order to revise the restrictive economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution. 

ALSO READ: 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/2/6/saan-ba-sila-nanggaling-solon-hurt-by-villanueva-s-belittling-of-party-list-congressmen

Part of the current friction between the two legislative chamber's is the Senate's perceived slow action on measures espousing Cha-cha. 

Referring to Villanueva, Suarez subsequently asked journalists tongue-in-cheek: "Sino nga ulit yun (Who is he again)?" 

"It was the majority leader of Congress (Dalipe), they know each other. This is why kami sa Congress, gusto namin i-elevate yung discussion pag-usapan natin yung merits nung amendments," he underscored. 

(That's why we in Congress want to elevate the discussion, let's tackle the merits of the amendments [to the Constitution].) 

Also on Monday, House Deputy Majority Leader TGP Party-list Rep. Jose "Bong" Teves Jr. called out Villanueva for his "hurtful" comments about congressmen like him.