HOUSE senior deputy minority leader Rep. Neri Colmenares  called the initial victory of Charter Change (derailment at the Lower House as an assertion of Philippine independence against foreign interests. “Cha-cha’s derailment is a good assertion of our country’s independence and very timely for our commemoration of Independence Day. It is no small feat to mobilize thousands to protect our lands, patrimony and sovereignty, and I am glad that they are keeping watch,” Colmenares said. “As it is though, we are glad members of the House did not push through with the Cha-cha vote because it would only exacerbate the poverty of the Filipino people. We need genuine land reform and national industrialization instead of this obsession with foreign investors and foreign led development programs,” he added. For his part, Rep. Carlos Zarate said it was just a temporary reprieve though and the fight against Cha-cha continues. “We have to continue to educate the people of the rapacious effects of these proposed amendments on the protectionist economic provisions of the Constitution. In the end, we are just representatives of our people who are the decisive force to finally stop this Cha-cha,” he explained. “We don’t need this Cha-cha. The proposed amendments are detrimental to our economic sovereignty, to our national patrimony, to our people,” Zarate said. Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. decided not to put into a vote his proposed economic Charter Change after he failed to get the needed number to pass on third and final reading the controversial measure. In a chance interview right after Belmonte declared the second regular session adjourn sine die, he admitted that his “best is not good enough” because he failed to convince and muster the needed 119 solid vote in his favor. The law mandates that it need three fourth votes of the total 191 regular members and the magic number is 119. Solons who responded to the roll call on the last day of session is 267 but a big chunk of them were not supportive of economic Cha-cha. But he said it is “not yet over until it’s over” because there is still time to pass the measure when they come back on July 27, the start of third regular session. Belmonte refused to elaborate on what decided the numbers as he clarified that Malacanang had nothing to do with it who already claimed in the past that they are not interested to push Cha-cha. He said it also had nothing to do with the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law. “What I wanted to do was show it could be done, but frankly, given only 21 senators and some of them have... ‘di rin naman sila interesado sa measure, it would have been a gesture on our part.” Belmonte said some congressmen didn’t want to just amend the economic provisions. His statement in the evening was a far cry from the optimism earlier in the day. In his sine die speech, Belmonte said that the bill, which was approved on 2nd reading last week, is the most advanced any attempted amendment has gone. pna