MANILA - Seeking to end an impasse with the Senate, House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo agreed to a separate voting of the two chambers on proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution in a constituent assembly.

In an ambush interview in Pampanga, Arroyo said: ”Separate voting, we agree to separate voting."

"We want to move forward. You want to move forward, you have to be realistic. Better to move forward and achieve something than to be very stubborn and achieve nothing," she said.

Arroyo said the impasse has been present since she left the presidency. During her term, there were also moves to call for a constituent assembly, which also got stuck on the issue of voting separately or together.

"Years later, we're still in the same stalemate... we should move forward. We move forward and the way to move forward is to agree to voting separately," she said.

The 1987 organic law merely stated that any amendment to, or revision of, this constitution may be proposed by "the Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Members."

Arroyo again reached out to the Senate as she expressed readiness to work with the Senate.

“I’m not saying we leave it to the Senate. We work with the Senate well. We are going to elect. We're going to reconstitute the committee on constitutional amendments," she said, adding that it may be constituted on Wednesday afternoon.

The House, then under the leadership of Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, adopted in January a resolution to convene as a constituent assembly to amend the 1987 Constitution.

Senators, however, said they would boycott a joint assembly where they would be outnumbered by the 292-strong House.

• Senate to boycott joint con-ass with House

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri last month said the chamber would continue its hearings on charter change without rushing the legislation of the proposed shift to federalism.

• Zubiri on the Senate ‘Cha-cha’ hearings — ‘Hindi namin mamadaliin’

The Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes, chaired by Sen. Francis Pangilinan, deferred hearings on the matter. Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the Senate has allowed the committee to "finish its hearings and submit its report" before debating and voting on it.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said that a majority of the senators is against charter change or federalism.