MANILA — The Senate's move to amend economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution — by a 3/4 vote of all lawmakers and with the 2 chambers voting separately — is a vindication of the House and of Speaker Martin Romualdez, who have been pushing for constitutional amendments, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe said.

He said Resolution of Both Houses No. 6, filed by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri this week, shows the House has been "correct all along."

The Senate has historically been the graveyard of charter change moves that were approved by the House.

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"This marks the first time the Senate has agreed to amend the Constitution, vindicating the House's 37-year-long pursuit of constitutional reforms," Dalipe said in a statement.

"It also reaffirms our position under Speaker Romualdez that constitutional amendments are essential to keeping pace with the rapidly evolving global economy," he also said.

He added that the House majority will support RBH 6 as instructed by Romualdez.

RBH 6 proposes amendments to Articles XII, XIV, and XVI of the 1987 Constitution, allowing Congress to pass laws removing equity restrictions on certain industries in a bid to address the alleged constitutional infirmity of Republic Act No. 11659, amending the Public Services Act to permit 100% foreign ownership in certain public services.

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"The Speaker is happy that the Senate has finally recognized the need for constitutional amendments. We've tirelessly worked for economic reforms through charter change, but this was consistently opposed by the Senate. Now, it can be told that we were right all along," Dalipe said.

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Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel, a member of the minority bloc, said on Tuesday that the Senate seems to have caved to pressure on charter change.

An earlier push by Sen. Robin Padilla, an advocate of federalism and chair of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments, had been set aside, with Senate leadership saying in 2023 that it was not a priority.

Zubiri's resolution was filed in the wake of a People's Initiative campaign that seeks to amend the charter to authorize joint voting by the Senate and House in considering charter amendments. If successful, the amendment could make the 24 votes of the Senate irrelevant against over 300 votes of the House.

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'SELF-SERVING' INITIATIVE

The signature campaign has been described as self-serving and suspicious.

Zubiri, who opposes it, said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is also against it and had tasked the Senate with leading a review of the Constitution instead.

• Zubiri wants Senate to lead review of 1987 Constitution

Davao del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, a former House speaker, said he prefers how charter change was proposed during the Duterte presidency, saying the process was more open to the public.

"May anti-political dynasty provision pa at pagbubukas ng bansa sa mga foreign investments para dumami ang trabaho ng mga Pilipino. Sincere at hindi makasarili yung effort," he said.

Alvarez said that charter change is not a priority for people facing hunger and low wages and who are still recovering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"At ang masakit pa diyan, ginagawang uto-uto ang mga Pilipino, pinupuwersa sila mamalimos. 'Yung mga programa na pinondohan ng buwis, imbes na ibigay — dahil sa tao dapat yan — hindi ibibigay," he said, referring to reports of signatures being gathered in exchange for cash or for government aid.

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"How can that be serving in the interest of the people? It can't be. Itong PI na 'to, hindi 'to People's Initiative. Ito ay: self-serving politiko’s initiative." Alvarez said.

Last week, Rep. Paolo Duterte condemned the signature campaign in a separate statement, saying: "I am against this people’s initiative as this is not the people’s voice but the voice of a few who wanted to perpetuate themselves in power."

ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro said over the weekend that blame for slow economic development should not be on the charter but on "neoliberal" — those that favor privatization and deregulation — economic policies of the present and previous administrations.

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