Not enough time for Cha-cha – Drilon

MANILA, Philippines - Senate President Franklin Drilon said yesterday that amending the Constitution for the purpose of extending the term of President Aquino is not a priority of the Senate.

Interviewed over radio station dzRH, Drilon said the Senate is focused on two bills at this time – the 2015 national budget and the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law.

Congress must also tackle President Aquino’s request for emergency powers to deal with a power shortage in the summer of 2015.

“That is why I don’t see that and we don’t have time for that,” Drilon said, referring to Charter change (Cha-cha). “These laws will occupy the calendar of the Senate.”

In previous statements, Drilon said the agreement he had with Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Charter change was that the Senate would take it up once the House of Representatives has passed its proposed amendments.

However, the agreement was that the amendments would cover only certain economic provisions and nothing political, Drilon said.

“In the Senate, there are only proposed bills that we have to prioritize and pass right away. There’s the Bangsamoro bill that we have to approve by the first quarter of next year and the national budget for 2015 that we have to finish by December,” he said.

Drilon also cited the joint resolution requested by the President from Congress so that he could contract additional generating capacity in anticipation of a power supply shortage next summer.

No to Cha-cha

Yesterday, Vice President Jejomar Binay reiterated his strong opposition to Charter change amid efforts to extend the term of Aquino beyond 2016.

In an interview at the sidelines of the Mining Philippines 2014 conference and exhibition at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza, Binay said he would only support Cha-cha if it would exclusively touch the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

“I am against Charter change, unless it is on economic provisions,” he said.

He added that he is for the 60-40 sharing on mining “so there is really a need to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution.”

He noted that there is a need to reconcile the negative effects of mining with the gains that the country will get from it.

“That is what we are saying. The negative of it must be reconciled with its positive aspect. From the very start, I have been supporting revenue sharing between the government and the mining firms,” Binay said.

He welcomed the call to harmonize the national and local mining industry.

“We will have them face each other. That is one of the challenges that I face as vice president – the monitoring and coordination of all departments in the government,” he said.

Binay said local government has to be monitored if it is going beyond its job.

“Coordination, you have to put them together. The national laws must be harmonized with the local laws based on the needs of the community. That is coordination and monitoring.

“Let’s hope and pray that (mining firms) will get the necessary documents so that they will be able to operate,” he said. – With Jose Rodel Clapano