Angara: Filing of RBH 7 in House a positive development

Senator Sonny Angara on Tuesday welcomed the filing of Resolution of Both Houses No. 7 (RBH 7) in the House of Representatives which proposes amendments to certain economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

Angara, one of the authors of House RBH7's counterpart bill in the Senate, said this is a positive development amid the word war between the two chambers of Congress.

"Nauna kami sa totoo lang. So that’s good. Sa akin, positive ang pag-file ng RBH7. Maganda 'yon dahil imbes na magbangayan, mag-daily press conference na tinitira lang ang Senado, mas okay na magka-hearing na sila dito sa RBH7 at talagang pag-usapan," Angara said in an interview.

(For me, the filing of RBH 7 is a positive development. It is better than trading barbs. It is better to conduct a hearing and discuss RBH 7.)

"Sila naman, ang maganda sa mga congressman, they are in their own districts. So puwede nilang konsultahin ang mga distrito nila," he added.

(The good thing with congressmen, they are in their own districts so they can consult their constituents.)

Angara, who leads the Senate's committee deliberations on the proposed amendments to the economic provisions of the Charter, explained that the filing of RBH 7 in the House is necessary if they are going to adopt the Senate's RBH 6 "as promised."

"Kung ia-adopt nila 'yung version ng Senado, kailangan din silang magpasa (If they will adopt the Senate version, they need to file a similar bill), for the House to pass their own version," he said.

Should there be disagreeing provisions between the House and the Senate's versions, Angara said a bicameral conference committee meeting might be necessary. He maintained that Congress should vote separately on the measure proposing amendments to the Constitution.

Since there was an agreement for the House to adopt the Senate's version, Angara said they will consult the House before they finalize and approve their version of the measure.

"Mas mabilis kung i-adopt nga kaya before i-finalize namin sa amendments, mag-uusap din kami kahit informally para plantsado lang," Angara said.

(It would be faster if they would adopt our version so before we finalize the amendments, we will talk to them even informally to ensure that everything is aligned.)

The Senate began its deliberations on RBH No. 6, which also seeks to amend some economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, particularly Articles XII, XIV, and XVI.

The constitutional provisions on public services, education, and advertising industry will be amended by adding the phrase "unless otherwise provided by law."

The Senate subcommittee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes led by Angara, has so far conducted three hearings on Senate's RBH 6.

RBH 6 was filed by Angara, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda after the Senate and the House leadership made an agreement before President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. wherein the Upper House will lead the deliberations on the amendments to the 1987 Constitution as long as the people's initiative, which is believed to be supported by congressmen, including House Speaker Martin Romualdez, will be halted.

But the alleged continuous signature gathering for the PI enraged the senators and resulted in a word war between members of the Senate and the House of Representatives.—AOL, GMA Integrated News