MANILA – The House of Representatives intends to maintain the pre-Holy Week recess deadline for voting on the resolution suggesting revisions to the economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Lanao del Sur Representative Zia Alonto Adiong emphasized the significance of accelerating the approval of Resolution of Both Houses 7 (RBH 7) to protect it from potential political implications and varied interpretations.
“I personally would want this discussion on the economic provision done before the break for the Holy Week. Actually, that’s the original plan,” Adiong said.
Congress is scheduled to adjourn from March 23 to April 28.
Adiong voiced concern over the proposal to hold a plebiscite for economic constitutional amendments simultaneously with the 2025 midterm elections, cautioning that such a move could lead to politicization.
“Personally, I would want that to end as soon as possible time because come 2025, it would be an election season. And the reason why we are fast-tracking this discussion, this amendment is we want to insulate this from political innuendos and political interpretation. This might be used as a campaign slogan,” Adiong said.
“So if we want to pass that and simultaneously doon sa (with the) holding of the election, this will open up to several political interpretations and this might be used as a political campaign and masisira ang pinaka-intention ng administration (and the administration’s goal will be sullied),” Adiong added.
He remarked that amending the economic provisions of the constitution has been a distinct priority of the Marcos administration.
“It’s very clear that the President wants to push for the changing, amending the provisions in the Constitution particularly the economic provision. So what we’re doing here in the House of Representatives is to translate that priority and policy of this current administration,” Adiong said.
According to PBA Party-list Rep. Margarita Nograles, the House is concentrating on deliberating on economic reforms, underscoring the significance of establishing “specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound” objectives while awaiting additional directives from the President.
“As far as the House is concerned, patuloy po ‘yung trabaho (our work continues) and we will exhaustively look into the economic revisions in the Constitution and hear the different resource persons while looking into RBH 7,” Nograles said.
Meanwhile, RIDER Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez urged senators to contemplate refraining from extending the deliberations and approval of their version of the proposed economic amendments under RBH 6 before the sine die adjournment.
“But of course, again, we would urge our colleagues in the Senate, at least as priority, hopefully we don’t extend it all the way to sine die. I think it’s possible naman that we have a fruitful exhaustive discussion which still follows the original na sinabi nilang (that they’re saying) can be finished before Holy Week,” he said.
