Romualdez says no Cha-cha talks with Escudero yet

House Speaker Martin Romualdez on Tuesday said he and Senate President Francis Escudero have discussed passing priority measures—and that charter change (Cha-cha) remains off the table, at least for now.

“Not specifically,” Romualdez replied when asked if he and his Senate counterpart discussed the issue on the sidelines of the signing of the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act into law, at which they were both present.

“Pero siyempre isa pa rin naman na naka-pending iyong RBH 6 sa Senate saka yung RBH 7 [But of course RBH is pending at the Senate and RBH 7]. So we'll get to that,” he added.

Resolution of Both Houses 6 (RBH 6) and Resolution of Both Houses 7 (RBH 7) seek to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution by allowing more foreign ownership in vital industries such as education, advertising and public utilities.

RBH 6, however, provides for separate voting for the House and the Senate in a constituent assembly, while RBH 7 provides for voting of all members of Congress.

Escudero, who was elected Senate President more than a week ago after a swift coup that ousted Senator Miguel Zubiri, has said that he remains against Cha-cha because of contrasting provisions provided for in the proposals in terms of voting on constitutional amendments.

The House approved RBH 7 in March, but the same initiative did not even reach sub-committee approval under Zubiri.

“Myself and Senate President agreed that even before the LEDAC na sa third week ng buwan na ‘to, mag-usap kami [even before the LEDAC in the third week of this month, we will talk]. Iyong coordination between the Senate President and myself of course, we have each other’s numbers,” Romualdez said.

LEDAC is the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) where priority measures are identified.

“We’re on our way. We will allow the Senate to fully reorganize itself and the common legislative agenda as well as the priority legislation will be outlined,” Romualdez said.

“The Senate is aware that the House had already passed all the priority measures of the President, so the coordination will be particularly over bicameral conference committees, on how we reconcile the differing versions [of our passed bills],” he added. — BM, GMA Integrated News