Who delivered? Gonzales compares Romualdez, Zubiri on handling of Cha-cha promise 

House Speaker Martin Romualdez (left), Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri (Facebook)

Senior Deputy Speaker Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales Jr. can't help but compare Speaker Martin Romualdez and Senate President Juan Miguel "Migs" Zubiri as far as the promise to pass the economic Charter change (Cha-cha) measure is concerned. 

Romualdez is the leader of the 300-plus strong House of Representatives, while Zubiri is the chief of the 24-member Senate. 

On Wednesday, March 20, before Congress went on Lenten break, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved Resolution of Both (RBH) No. 7--its version of the economic Cha-cha--on third and final reading. 

“Our good Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez delivered on his promise to approve the proposals before Holy Week. That’s leadership,” Gonzales said. 

On the other hand, Senate President Zubiri made a similar commitment but failed to deliver on it, he noted. 

Stuck in the subcommittee level is RBH No.6, the Senate's very one economic Cha-cha measure. 

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https://mb.com.ph/2024/1/16/senate-s-surprising-pro-cha-cha-move-vindicates-house-dalipe

RBH No.7 is an exact copy of RBH No.6, which proposes amendments to Articles XII, XIV and XVI, focusing on the national patrimony, economy, education and general provisions of the 1987 Constitution.   

RBH No.6 was filed on Jan. 15, 2024--over a month ahead of RBH No.7. Zubiri was among the primary authors of RBH No.6, while Gonzales was among the primary authors of RBH No.7. 

The measures essentially seek to ease the restrictive economic provisions of the existing Charter--a decades-long desire of the House members.  

Of the two chambers of Congress (House and Senate), it's the House that has consistently pushed for constitutional reform. The Senate, on the other hand, has been dubbed the "graveyard" of Cha-cha measures.