Zubiri: Cha-cha not our priority

Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, who is expected to be the next Senate president, on Wednesday said amending the 1987 Constitution, particularly the extension of terms of elected officials, will not be the priority of the upper chamber in the 19th Congress.

Zubiri made the statement in reaction to a proposal in the House of Representatives which seeks to amend the Constitution and cut the president and vice president's terms to five years but allow one reelection.

"'Wag na muna natin pag-usapan 'yung Charter change na kabago-bago pa lang ng administration [Let's not discuss Charter change when the administration is so new]...I would say, right now, that is not our priority," Zubiri told reporters in a chance interview.

"Definitely term limits... Alam mo 'yan ang ayaw ng...allergic ang taumbayan sa mga usaping politikal pagdating sa [you know, the public is allergic to political talks when it comes to] constitutional amendments," he said.

In the first year of the 19th Congress, Zubiri said, they should prioritize economic recovery and livelihoods.

"'Yun muna ang pag-usapan natin kasi galing tayong pandemya, ang daming nahihirapan na mga kababayan natin, hindi pa tapos ang COVID-19. So we have to support the President and his health program sa darating na mga buwan," he said.

(That's the first thing we have to discuss because we're coming from a pandemic. Many are still suffering because COVID-19 isn't over yet. So we have to support the President and his health program in the coming months.)

Right now, Zubiri said, the only Charter change–related issue that has been discussed is the federalism advocacy of Senator Robin Padilla. The neophyte senator is poised to chair the Senate constitutional amendments panel.

"Ang sabi ko sa kanya, 'Sige, mag-set ka ng mga committee hearings. Of course, we will attend and we will exchange our ideas with you'...That's as far as we are talking about any talk about charter change," Zubiri said.

Timing

In a separate interview with Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, the lawmaker said timing is very important in amending the 1987 Constitution and the government must know its priorities given the current oil supply situation and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

"Right now, my personal view on charter change is timing. With what's happening in the country in regards to inflation, in regards to increase in the prices of oil, may food security issue tayo, we should focus on these issues at hand and opening up, and amending the constitution will take a lot of time here in Congress and the Senate and mawawala ang focus natin [we will lose focus] in addressing the present issues right now," Gatchalian told reporters.

Although he is pushing for measures that will amend the constitution, particularly the economic provisions and the tandem vote for president and vice president, Gatchalian said the government must first protect the country and the economy from external events.

No rubber stamp

Zubiri also vowed that the 19th Congress Senate will not be a "rubber stamp" for the Marcos administration.

"Hindi magiging rubber stamp and Senado in my watch," Zubiri said.

(The Senate will not become a rubber stamp under my watch.)

"In the 18th Congress, I was also the majority leader sa leadership ng Senate. Never naging rubber stamp ang Senado. Marami po tayong mga panukala na sa tingin namin hindi sang-ayon sa ating bansa na itinulak po ng administrasyon," he added.

(In the 18th Congress, I was also the Senate majority leader. Never did the Senate become a rubber stamp. There were also some measures that in our view would not be good for our country that the administration pushed.)

To support his statement, Zubiri cited as an example the push for the death penalty bill during the Duterte administration.

"At that time, usong-uso po ang hatol na kamatayan at ipinasa po ito ng House of Representatives, kami po rito hindi po namin naipasa yan dahil pinag-isipan po namin nang mabuti," he said.

[The House of Representatives passed it, but at the Senate we did not because we considered it carefully.]

Zubiri, however, also said that the Senate would not be "obstructionist" regarding administration measures that would be good for the country.

"We will go through with a fine-toothed comb on the measures. Kung sa tingin po natin na maganda ito para sa ating bansa, ipapasa po natin [If we believe it to be good for the nation, we will pass it] without a doubt. If it's good for the country, it's good for a particular sector," he said.

"We don't want to be an obstructionist. We will support the measures of the administration that we think and we feel would be good for the country. That will be our priority," he said.

Gatchalian echoed Zubiri's assurance that the Senate will show its independence in terms of policies and in terms of legislation.

He cited the veto of the proposed economic zone at the Bulacan City Airport as an example of the independence of the Legislative and the Executive branches of the government.

"The Senate has demonstrated its independence in policy, independence in legislation. In fact makikita natin ang pag-veto ng [we can see the veto on the] Bulacan Airport goes to show the co-equal system is working," he said.

"Hindi porke na-approve sa Kongreso ay kaagad approved sa Executive side [Just because it was approved in Congress doesn't mean it would get approved on the Executive side]. It's really where the checks and balances are functioning and nakikita ko na [I can see that] the Senate will be more collaborative," he added.

Gatchalian said the Senate and Congress are expected to collaborate more with the Executive Branch in terms of its direction on agricultural issues.

"Ang food security natin right now is actually an issue. So it will be independent and then collaborating in the direction where the country is going," Gatchalian said.

In their previous meetings, Zubiri said the Marcos administration did not ask yet for the passage of "controversial" bills.

He also disclosed that the current administration would like to push for the remaining tax reform bills that were not approved under the Duterte administration such as the Passive Income Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA), Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE) bill, and the Real Property Valuation Reform.

"I think those are non-controversial measures. Hindi siya new taxes. It's 'no to new taxes.' 'Yan po ang theme ng Marcos administration in this first quarter," he said.

The lawmaker said they will wait for the Marcos administration's priority bills, which will be laid out on his first State of the Nation Address on July 25. — RSJ/BM, GMA News