MANILA (UPDATED) — Senators on Friday clapped back at House lawmakers who labelled Resolution of Both Houses No. 6, which seeks to amend economic provisions of the Charter, as "unconstitutional" due to its proposed voting method.

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“Those four words 'each House voting separately' are not in the Constitution. Our colleagues in the Senate cannot and should not insist on that language... I am not a lawyer, but that is unconstitutional,” said House Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales, Jr. on Thursday.

The House has filed a counterpart measure almost exactly like the Senate's version except that it wants both chambers to "vote jointly."

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But Sen. Jinggoy Estrada on Friday shot back by referring the congressmen to Article XVII, Section 1 of the Constitution, which states that “any amendment to, or revision of, this Constitution may be proposed by: (1) The Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Members; or (2) A constitutional convention."

“Pag sinabi mong Congress, there are both Houses, there are two Houses. House of the Senate, and House of Representatives. Okay?” Estrada said.

"Pag joint voting eh 24 lang kami. Eh talagang, kakainin kami ng buhay ng mga congressman,” he added.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian also junked the congressmen’s allegation of the Senate’s seemingly invented “voting separately” words in RBH6.

“Hindi siya imbento kasi very clear in the first hearing (on RBH6), si (Supreme Court) Justice Vicente Mendoza, sinabi nya na ang intention talaga is bicameral... it might not be there in words, but the intention is to vote through a bicameral system. So, that’s why nilagay ng Senado yan,” Gatchalian, in an online interview, told journalists.

Even other framers of the 1987 Constitution during that same hearing, agreed with Mendoza, according to Gatchalian.

Amid renewed exchanges about Charter change, Gatchalian urged their House counterparts not to create issues on already cleared and settled matters so the Senate and the House of Representatives can move forward.

“Ang objective is ma-amend yung economic provisions. Any modality. So dapat hindi na natin gawing kumplikado pa. Dahil kung gagawin nating kumplikado paga-awayan natin yung modality, hindi natin maa-achieve yung amendments to economic provisions,” he said.

“Nagsabi na yung Pangulo na Senate yung mangunguna eh... yan na yung direksyon ng ating Pangulo. Alam din natin na kailangan natin ang Pangulo tungkol dito kaya importantentg magkasundo ang lahat,” he added.

“I don’t think we should complicate the matters dahil na-settle na ito ng ating Pangulo,” Gatchalian stressed.