Cha-cha reso not on Senate priority ahead of sine die break

The Resolution of Both Houses No. 6, which seeks to amend economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, is not on the list of priority measures that the Senate is looking to pass before sine die break, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said on Monday.

At a press conference, Zubiri answered in the negative when asked if the measure on Charter change (Cha-cha) was among the bills that the Senate would pass before Congress goes on its break on May 24.

Zubiri said the timeline for the Cha-cha deliberations was still unclear, considering that the Senate would still conduct consultations in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

"I’ll find out in the caucus, of course, what dates are we going to Baguio, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro. After that, we can discuss with the group [what their plans are for Cha-cha]," Zubiri said.

The Senate rules committee has also yet to come up with a decision on the proposed amendments to the Senate Rules on how to tackle measures on cha-cha, Zubiri said. 

Should the rules be established, Zubiri said he would prefer the plenary deliberations on RBH 6 to be held before the 3 p.m. regular Senate sessions.

"I would prefer that it will not be done during Senate session time... We may have to discuss charter change during the morning sessions," he said.

The House of Representatives has already passed its version of the Cha-cha measure, RBH No. 7 which essentially mirrors the proposals of the Senate's RBH.

The measure needs 18 votes from the members of the Senate to pass.

Senator Sonny Angara, chairman of a Senate subcommittee that tackles RBH 6, earlier said that they are planning to sponsor the measure before President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s State of the Nation in July.

Although he has set the timeline for RBH6's passage, Angara previously admitted that it would be an “uphill climb” for them to get 18 votes to approve the measure.

Zubiri had also said that it would be a big challenge for the Senate to gather a majority vote to pass RBH6.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III and Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, Senators Cynthia Villar and Imee Marcos have already expressed their opposition to RBH6.

If seven senators voted against RBH6, the chamber would not be able to approve the proposed economic amendments to the 1987 Constitution.