Cha-cha to be shelved? Cayetano says House would rather do away with ‘divisive’ issues

The House of Representatives would rather do away with discussing controversial issues that may cause division among lawmakers for now, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said Thursday.

Cayetano made the remark in response to the proposal of House Committee on Constitutional Amendments chair Rufus Rodriguez to "indefinitely" shelve moves for Charter change in the House so that lawmakers can focus on finding solutions to the COVID-19 crisis.

In an interview with reporters, Cayetano said that deliberating on Cha-cha measures would only take up the House's time when it should be focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Kapag sinabi ko sa inyo priority 'yan, magdedebate kami the whole week doon sa foreign ownership, doon sa term limits et cetera na dapat ang pinag-uusapan natin, how to avoid the [COVID-19] second wave, how to reopen businesses, how to make sure na hindi ma-bankrupt ang mga local government, paano makatulong," he said.

"For me, anything that maghahati-hati tayo, if we can postpone that, let's postpone it muna tutal the [President's State of the Nation Address] is, what? May, June, July. Less that three months away and during the budget naman, mapag-uusapan lahat yan," he added.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that the DILG has directed its regional offices to continue with the department's campaign to gather up to two million signatures over the next couple of months to support "constitutional reforms."

Th signatures will then be submitted to Congress.

Cayetano said he does not intend to tell the DILG or the groups that support Cha-cha what to do.

"Kung tingin nila part of their advocacy 'yan, I respect that.... kasi makakatulong talaga ang structural reforms at federalism sa ating bansa," he said.

"What I am saying is that sobrang urgent 'yung lives and livelihood. Sobrang urgent nung adapt, innovate, and manage. Wala tayong pag-uusapan kung mamamatay ang mga tao o mamamatay ang ekonomiya natin. Ako I'd rather concentrate on that," he added. — BM, GMA News