Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd said on Thursday there was no chance for the Senate to pass any measure on federalism because Congress would adjourn in less than a month.

Congress is set to resume session on May 20 and will adjourn on June 7. Sen. Francis Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and
Revision of Codes, who conducted public hearings on the proposal to shift to federalism, earlier said he would submit his panel report once session resumes.

Sotto, in a media forum, said the federalism measure “will emanate from the House [of Representatives].”

“In the Senate, in the 17th Congress, of course it has no [more] chance [to be passed]. I think there will be a long debate [on federalism] in the [incoming] 18th Congress,” he said.

Sotto said the Nationalist People’s Coalition, where he belongs, had conducted a briefing regarding federalism.

“Are we going to support it or not? And after the briefings that we had, the sentiment of the Nationalist People’s Coalition is, we should study it further.”

“We realized that the transition alone from the present form to federalism would be at least five or even 10 years. I cannot say, I cannot agree that the composition of the new Senate will expedite the shift to federalism. It will depend on its merits,” he added.000