President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. directed the Senate to lead the review of the Constitution’s economic provisions, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said.

In a statement released Monday, Zubiri said that he, Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, the leadership of the House of Representatives, and Marcos met on January 11 to discuss issues with the proposed amendment in the people’s initiative.

“The President agreed with us that the proposal was too divisive, and asked the Senate to instead take the lead in reviewing the economic provisions of the Constitution. In this way, we can preserve our bicameral nature of legislation,” Zubiri said.

Zubiri also said that despite respecting and recognizing the people as sovereign, when it comes to amending the Charter, they  “must guard against any attempt to revise the Constitution by exploiting our democratic process under the guise of a people’s initiative.”

“The People’s initiative on Article XVII, Sec. 1(1) of the Constitution stoked fears of the unknown among our citizens,” he said.

Zubiri explained that before presenting any proposal to amend or revise the Constitution to the people, lawmakers must identify the provisions being changed including its full text as well as its impact, effect, and the true intention behind it.

“The proposal subject of the people’s initiative could have led to a constitutional crisis, destabilizing our bicameralism and upsetting the system of checks and balances,” Zubiri said.

He said that while the Constitution should be reviewed to keep with the demands of the present, he said the lawmakers should first find other ways to address this through policy-making in legislation.

Zubiri also maintains that through the amendments to the Public Service Act (PSA), they were able to liberalize several industries to attract more foreign investments.

“The Senate stands firm behind the PSA as a landmark piece of legislation that reforms our economic landscape. We, however, recognize that a case assailing the constitutionality of Republic Act No. 11659  or the amendments to the Public Service Act is currently before the Supreme Court,” he said.

“As such, the Senate commits that it will work with the House of Representatives to remove all doubts on the constitutionality of the law by ensuring that the liberalized policies contained in the PSA can be implemented and relied on by investors as an enduring policy. It is only in this respect that the Senate can agree to modify the Constitution,” he added.

Zubiri said that the framers of the Constitution intentionally made the process of modifying it an “arduous process” or a process that requires serious effort and energy so that it would never be taken lightly.

“We wish to assure the people that in reviewing the economic provisions of the Constitution, we will be circumspect. We are guided by the knowledge that our sovereign is watching, and that the work we do should represent no interest other than our people’s interest,” Zubiri said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS