Marcos ‘not as warm as usual’ in latest meeting with senators – source

Marcos ‘not as warm as usual’ in latest meeting with senators – source

MANILA,  Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was not as “warm as the usual” when he met with senators on Thursday, a source said.

Instead of convening the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac), the President met separately with the senators and members of the House of Representatives.

The source, however, did not say if the President was frustrated over the ongoing feud between the Senate and the House on proposals to amend the 1987 Constitution.

“Sabihin na lang natin na (Let’s just say that) both walked away not happy,”  the source said over the phone.

Was it because of the postponement of the Ledac meeting?

“Dahil sa PI,” the source answered, referring to the people’s initiative (PI) on Charter change.

Present during Thursday’s meeting with the President were Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, and Senators Imee Marcos, JV Ejercito, Grace Poe, Sherwin Gatchalian, and Mark Vilar.

It was just last January 11 when the Senate and the House leaderships met with Marcos where they agreed to push for changes to certain economic  provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

Days after that meeting, Zubiri filed a resolution to amend at least three economic provisions.

READ: Zubiri ready to ‘risk’ Senate leadership on Cha-cha push

Not long after, however, all 24 senators signed a manifesto against the PI, which they said included a proposal for a joint voting of Congress.

READ: Don’t ‘hijack’ Cha-cha signature drive, Koko Pimentel urges House

Senators expressed fear that a joint voting would give the lower chamber more power over the upper chamber since the Senate – with only 24 members – could easily be outvoted by more than 300 House members.

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