President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday said he is open to studying the suggestion to amend the 1987 Constitution in line with the administration’s economic agenda.
In an interview in Muntinlupa, Mr. Marcos was asked about his stance on moves in the House of Representatives to amend economic provisions of the Constitution.
“We’re just beginning to study because we keep talking about economic provisions that are getting in the way with some of the potential investors that we are trying to bring to the Philippines,” the President said.
“My primary interest is to try and make our country an investment-friendly place and… We’ll see… That’s why the study is really not about the Constitution,” Mr. Marcos said.
“It’s about what do we need to do— what do we need to change so that these potential investors will in fact come to the Philippines,” he added.
Earlier this week, House Speaker Martin Romualdez said that Congress is pushing to amend the 1987 Constitutions in 2024 after exploring options for Charter change proposals.
“I believe 2024 will allow us again to revisit the whole issue of the Constitution because I think it’s timely that we revisit and I say we’d like to focus very much on the economic provisions,” Romualdez said.
Romualdez, the President’s cousin, said the lower chamber of Congress in 2024 would focus its attention on proposals regarding restrictions on the entry of foreign capital and investments.
In a speech before the House adjourned for the Christmas break,Romualdez pointed out that Charter change was needed to unlock the country’s potential as an investment destination.
“Next year, we will focus our attention on studying and reviewingproposals that deal with the restrictions blocking the entry of foreign capital and investment in the Philippines,” Romualdez said.
“These include deliberations on proposed measures related to constitutional change,” he added.
Senator Cynthia Villar said she will not support any move to amend the 1987 Constitution after Senator Robin Padilla pushed for changes to the political provisions of the Charter.
Padilla wants to increase the number of senators from 24 to 54, toinclude 30 elected by voters from each legislative region.
Villar, a stalwart of the Nacionalista Party, said she does not like Charter change because the people do not want it.
She also warned against tinkering with the Constitution’s political provisions.
“You can’t say you’ll only touch the economic provisions since everything will be hit,” she said.
Villar said Charter change proposals would have a hard time getting through the Senate.
“We have been in the Senate for a long time. As a policy, you don’t dosomething that is against the will of the people. So, we’ll see if the people will accept it,” she said.
Padilla has filed a resolution proposing changes to the constitutional terms of elected officials including the President, Vice President, and lawmakers.
Other recommendations in Padilla’s resolution are:
• Sec. 7 of Art VI: Members of the House of Representatives shall be elected for a term of four years, and shall not serve more than three consecutive terms.
• Sec. 4 of Art. VII: The President and Vice President shall be elected as joint candidates by direct vote of the people for a term of four years. They shall not be elected for more than two terms. APresident who served for two terms shall not be qualified to run for any elective position. Any person who has succeeded the President or Vice President shall only be qualified for one election to the same office at any time.
Romualdez wants to tap local government units in pursuing changes to the 1987 Constitution, saying it has the support of President Marcos.
This was the fourth time this week that Romualdez spoke publicly about the House’s Charter change plans for next year.
Speaking at the Awarding of the Seal of Good Local Government on Thursday, Romualdez said congressmen want to work on pursuing charter change through both the people’s initiative and constituent assembly modes.
He said calling for a constitutional convention can be “very, very expensive and very tedious.”