House of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

The House of Representatives is poised to approve on third and final reading this week its economic Charter change (Cha-cha) measure, Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No.7. 

But more than the obvious accomplishment of passing the economic Cha-cha measure in plenary, the approval of the measure will have proved once again that the 300-plus strong House can follow a schedule. 

“Under the original timeline set by our good Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, we hope to have final approval before our scheduled adjournment on Wednesday, barring any last-minute delay,” Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. said in a statement Sunday, March 17. 

Gonzales, one of the principal authors of RBH No.7, said the measure “will be approved as is without amendment, as recommended by the Committee of the Whole House chaired by Speaker Romualdez". 

RBH No.7 is an almost exact reproduction of RBH No. 6, introduced in the Senate by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senators Loren Legarda and Juan Edgardo Angara. 

RBH Nos. 6 and 7 are both titled, “A Resolution of Both Houses of Congress proposing amendments to certain economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, particularly on Articles Xll, XlV and XVl.” 

Wednesday, March 20, is the last session date before the annual Holy Week recess. 

While the Romualdez-led House is nearing its final passage of the economic Cha-cha, the Senate is still several weeks away, as RBH No.6 is still being discussed at the subcommittee level. 

The proposed House and Senate changes are on the grant of legislative franchises to and ownership (60-40) of public utilities in Article Xll, administration and control of basic educational facilities in Article XlV and ownership of advertising firms (70-30) in Article XVl. 

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The suggested principal amendments are the insertion of the phrase, “unless otherwise provided by law,” which would empower Congress to change the present economic restrictions in the nation’s basic law and in the administration of basic educational facilities, and the addition of the qualifier “basic” in Article XlV. 

Meanwhile, Gonzales said those who still believe the House had planned to include political amendments in its push for economic Charter reforms “should now shed their baseless suspicions and their fear of the unknown". 

“Speaker Romualdez and the rest of us in the House have honored our word and followed the guidance of our President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr: that we would work only on proposing economic amendments,” he said.

He said not one House member even tried to propose anything political in nature in the push for economic Cha-cha. 

“We have proven the doubters wrong. No term extension proposal for any elective official. I hope they will now believe President BBM’s (Bongbong Marcos) statement that his advocacy was confined only to changing the economic provisions,” he added.