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By Sammy Martin, Reporter
THE House of Representatives on Saturday agreed
with the Senate to push Charter change “Cha-cha”, but vowed to
never modify the term limits.
House Speaker Prospero Nograles said this was
the primary agreement after he met with Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr.
Thursday night at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel to exchange ideas
on his proposal to amend the Constitution and shift the presidential
government to federal system.
“Cha-cha” has been pushed for several times,
the Ramos administration, but the campaign subsequently failed
because senators are afraid that this move could open a pipeline of
changes, including the lifting of term limits.
“If and when a constitutional change should
take place, the focus should be on amendments that will correct,
“antiquated,” economic provisions and create a better climate
for investment by removing constitutional restrictions on land
ownership by foreign investors just like the rest of the countries
in the Asia Pacific,” Nograles said.
He conveyed his support for the Senate proposal
and its counterpart proposals in the House of Representatives and
agreed that debates should now start so that all issues pertaining
to “Cha-cha” will be given full scrutiny.
“The proposal came from the
opposition-dominated Senate so I think there is really a good chance
that we can finally correct the defects of our Constitution,” he
said. 
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