gloria makes ligaw the senate: separate voting!

august 1, 2018 — the heat is on.  malinaw na charter change ang agenda ni gloria.  and she is not wasting the house’s time on endless debates over joint vs separate voting by the two chambers.

Arroyo expressed openness to separate voting of the two chambers on the proposed amendment to the 1987 Constitution, in an ambush interview following a tree-planting ceremony at the North Luzon Expressway in Pampanga.

“[It’s] better to move forward and achieve something than be stubborn and achieve nothing,” said Arroyo.

Arroyo also recalled that the issue of joint or separate voting was the same issue that hindered the move to amend the 1987 Constitution during her presidency.

“I ended my presidency with the same stalemate—voting separately and voting together. Years later, it’s the same stalemate,” she explained.

tama naman siya.  move forward.  separate voting talaga dapat.  so.  is there a chance that the senate would respond with a matamis na oo?

for a while i thought the senate might make pakipot, but only a little, because anyone who has been keeping track of past charter change attempts via con-ass knows how seriously senators have always wanted to amend the economic provisions, not just in gloria’s time but also in pNoy’s:

In September 2011, Sen. Franklin Drilon said both Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte had concurred with his proposal to have both chambers vote separately on bills involving Charter change, which would only touch on economic provisions.   

the senate tried again five years later, on january 18 2016.

The Senate today passed on third and final reading a bill which will open up financing companies, investment houses, lending companies and adjustment companies to foreign ownership, to help increase the flow of investments and jobs into the country.

no doubt, therefore, that neither gloria nor the senate is happy with ex-cj puno’s draft proposal that retains the 40% cap on foreign ownership of corporations, public utilities, and land, even if it would allow a 30% cap on media and advertising.  no-cap across the board is the holy grail for politicians in the service of big business / the oligarchs, and this is their chance, gloria might say.  ka-ching!  ka-ching!

but, but, but, every time they’ve tried to do a con-ass in pursuit of the dream, civil society raises a howl.  read do not delete (economic provisions) from dec 2008.  though, yes, these are different times, and gloria and the lower house might think it can happen, finally, under duterte, who, i have a feeling would go along with anything, basta federalism pa rin.

the good news is, busted  si gloria.  read Pangilinan: Arroyo nod to separate voting welcome, but no guarantee.  august 2 –

Speaking on “The Source” on CNN Philippines, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said that Arroyo’s assurance that the House would go for separate voting in case Congress constitutes itself into a constituent assembly is a welcome development.

“However, what is to stop anyone from going to the Supreme Court and say, ‘No, it’s not separately. The letter of the law says, it’s voting jointly.’ Of course, the Senate disagrees, so what happens there?” Pangilinan said during the interview.

The Liberal Party president said that this issue would become more worrisome considering the voting record of the Supreme Court, which in May issued a landmark decision allowing the removal of a chief justice through a quo warranto or ouster petition.

… He said that Arroyo could say one thing while her allies or other groups could do another especially since cracks in the ruling coalition burst in the open following a recent leadership showdown in the House which led to the former president’s election as speaker.

besides, some senators have grievances galore against gloria arroyo.

Sen. Grace Poe has stated her displeasure over the assumption of Arroyo as House speaker because of her involvement in various controversies during her term as president.

Poe’s father, the late actor Fernando Poe Jr., ran for president against Arroyo in the 2004 elections, which was seen by many as tainted by fraud.

Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito said the rise to power of Arroyo in the House does not look good for the Duterte administration, particularly with regard to its campaign against corruption.

Ejercito’s father, former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, was ousted in 2001 and as a result, then vice president Arroyo took over.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said the other day that if the ascension of Arroyo to the speakership is a prelude to becoming prime minister later on, the people behind this should think twice.

looks like gloria can’t have her way with this senate, salamat naman, even if for the wrong reasons.  i’d love to hear a senator or two or three justify the economic protectionism enshrined in all our constitutions since quezon’s time.  even marcos did not have the heart to delete these provisions, knowing full well that it would not bode well for nation.

so.  abangan ang next moves ni ate glo, who has promises to keep.

samantala, the duterte camp remains optimistic.  ding generoso, trixie cruz-angeles, and marie banaag are prepping mocha uson for the info campaign, and my favorite ex-senator rene saguisag wonders:

Can Mocha Uson help swing the work of the consultants who played a role not spelled out in the Constitution? That’s rich. How much is there for her, as a snake oil saleswoman, in pushing for what was done by a monolithic committee with only one woman and no known Duterte critic as members? Foolish questions might have been checked at the door. (?) How would she sell four Supreme Courts in Art. IX of the consultants’ draft, just for one contentious issue?

We now see that the Palace has reportedly allocated close to P100 million for a yes campaign, in addition to what has been spent so far when it created an office. Normally creating one which requires a huge budget can originate only exclusively in the Bigger House; the Better House (Senate) may concur with amendments. The power of the purse belongs to Congress; the way Digong allocates and spends money right and left we now see in him the equivalent of Macoy, a super-executive, a super-court, a super-legislature and a one-man continuing constitutional convention.