UNTI-UNI na umanong nauubos ang panahon ng Senado para maaprubahan ang resolusyon na naglalayong amyendahan ang economic provisions ng Konstitusyon.

Ito ang sinabi ni House Deputy Majority Leader at Tingog Partylist Rep. Jude Acidre isang araw matapos na aprubahan ng Kamara de Representantes ang Resolution of Both Houses no. 7 nito.

Sinabi ni Acidre na gustuhin man ni Speaker Romualdez na bigyan ng mas mahabang oras ang Senado upang talakayin ang panukala ay hindi naman ito ang nagtakda ng alituntunin.

“However, we have to understand there is a limited time frame to do this. As many of us actually know, the elections are coming, and we already cited that the most favorable time is for this to be passed before the Congress adjourns sine die (on May 25),” sabi nito.

“So those are the things that we’re looking at, the deadlines. Hindi naman namin pwedeng tawagin we imposed on the Senate, but this is a reasonable time frame for them. If the Senate means has what they said, then they will have to pass it before the sine die (adjournment),” saad pa ni Acidre.

Kung aaprubahan umano ng Senado ang kanilang bersyon ng RBH 6 bago ang sine die adjournment sa Mayo ay nangangahulugan na mayroon na lamang itong 12 session days para ito ay magawa.

Kung tatapusin naman umano ng Senado ang RBH 6 pagkatapos pa ng State of the Nation Address ay magagahol na ito sa oras.

“Alam naman natin magkaka election tayo in 2025, whether we want the plebiscite to happen together with 2025 elections or whether we want to do it ahead of the 2025 elections. Still, that’s a deadline that… we expect the Senate to know, di ba?” sabi ng kongresista.

“And if they mean what they said that they will pass this, they know that that is the ultimate deadline and if you work back the calendar coming from the election, siguro they should pass it before the sine die (adjournment),” wika pa nito.

Ipinaalala ni Acidre na sa ilalim ng Konstitusyon ang Comelec ay binibigyan ng 60 hanggang 90 araw para magdaos ng plebisito pagkatanggap ng resolusyon mula sa Kongreso.

“Those are not arbitrary deadlines that the House got from thin air and say… no, you have to pass it by then. We know these deadlines are self-apparent. They are there. We will have elections in 2025, we will file our certificates of candidacy in October this year,” sabi ni Acidre.

“So, siguro kung tama nga ang sinasabi nila at gusto nilang i-pursue kung totoo sila sa commitment nila, they will take those days into consideration,” dagdag pa nito.

Ayon kay Acidre nagawa na ng Kamara ang mandato nito.

“We have passed the bills and the RBH. We have passed the resolution and we have already forwarded it to the Senate. Now, we’re looking at our friends in the upper house of what they will do because as they insist, Congress is a bicameral body and the actions of the House has to be reciprocated by the Senate and we have full trust considering na ang RBH 6 is authored by the Senate President, by the Senate Pro Tempore, by the Majority leader and the chairman of the sub-committee,” dagdag pa ng mambabatas.