(Updated) Senators confident House bid for Chacha will fail

At least two senators on Wednesday said the last ditch effort of Arroyo allies at the House of Representatives to push for Charter change (Chacha) would not prosper, as the public and the Senate would not support it. Senate Pro Tempore Jose 'Jinggoy' Estrada said that in the remaining session days, legislators should not waste time and effort discussing the measure seeking to amend the Charter. “Our people have spoken. They have already declared their rejection of Chacha. We must heed their voice," Estrada said in a press statement. Furthermore, he said that any Chacha move at this time and particularly within the last session days of the 14th Congress would be divisive and a waste of taxpayers’ money. Senator Francis Pangilinan agreed with Estrada. "They are just wasting their time. The Senate will not agree to Charter change initiated by the Arroyo administration. They won't find any Malacañang lapdogs in the Senate willing to jump and bark just to please the masters by the Pasig river," Pangilinan said in a text message to GMANews.TV. Not a priority In Malacañang, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita clarified that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo did not certify as urgent the bill pushing for Chacha. “We really never talked about this with the President...right now her position is to follow up on measures certified as urgent," Ermita said. These priority bills include the LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) bill, which promotes consumer welfare and enhances competition in the LPG industry; and the disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) system, which aims to institutionalize disaster preparedness of the country. Measures on infant and child feeding program, amnesty for rebel returnees, gun control proposals, rationalization of fiscal incentives, and the simplified net income taxation scheme (SNITS), are also included in the President’s top agenda. Critics of the administration said President Arroyo, who is running for Congress in the May elections representing Pampanga, will benefit once her allies succeed in changing the form of government into parliamentary. Under it, President Arroyo can be elected prime minister. Economy, not Chacha Estrada, chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development and the joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Labor and Employment, said that instead of Chacha, Congress’ focus should be on issues greatly affecting the life of Filipinos. "What we should focus on are measures that could help our countrymen recover from the effects of the recent calamities, tragic accidents, the global financial crisis and especially the slump in our country’s economy and finances," he said. Reports have it that the House’s leadership would be making the final bid for Chacha during Congress’ remaining three weeks of session from January 18 to February 5. Speaker Prospero Nograles had said the Chacha bill was among the 16 priority measures up for House deliberations before Congress finally adjourns. Critics have long feared that the relentless initiatives at the House to tinker with the Charter could finally pave the way for the President’s stay in power beyond 2010. Some even expressed fears the next elected president would be replaced soon if President Arroyo wins a seat in the House that is dominated by her allies. [See: Next president to be replaced by Arroyo via Chacha] - LBG/RSJ/KBK, GMANews.TV