MANILA, March 18 -- Congressional leaders must sit down and privately settle their feud over the House of Representatives' push for constitutional amendments, instead of quarreling in public.

Cavite 4th District Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr., in a radio interview Friday, appealed to the House of Representatives and Senate leaders to observe parliamentary courtesy, noting that the differences in their opinions on the charter change initiative could have been avoided had the Senate first voted on the measure before announcing that it does not have the numbers to push it.

"Nagkakaroon tuloy ng (Due to this, there is now a) word war between the Senate President and the Speaker (Martin Romualdez) and (House Committee on Constitutional Amendments)...