MALACAÑANG has blamed the lack of awareness among Filipinos for the low approval rating of the proposal for Charter change as shown in a recent survey by Pulse Asia.
Presidential Communications Secretary Martin M. Andanar said the benefits of a federal form of government, to be brought about by the proposed Charter change by Congress sitting as a constituent assembly, have yet to be known to most Filipinos.
Hence, the Pulse Asia survey indicated more Filipinos who are against Charter change as against those who are for it. In the said survey, 44 percent of respondents said they are against changing the Constitution, while only 37 percent said they are agreeable to it.
“It has been almost 30 years since the 1987 Constitution was crafted, and now is an auspicious time to review this most fundamental law, considering that the Pulse Asia survey has also revealed that 77 percent of Filipinos have little knowledge of it,” Andanar said in response to the Pulse Asia survey.
Andanar added that the Duterte administration is ready for discussions on the pros and cons of the federal system of government, which had been an advocacy of President Duterte even during his days as mayor of Davao City.
“The most distinguished feature of the federal setup is that the regions benefit from their own resources, hence the more equitable distribution of funds is ensured between local government and national government. There is much more to be learned about the system, but the campaign to change toward federalism shall be intensified,” Andanar said.
Political leaders at the House of Representatives are proposing to change the Constitution through the convening of a constituent assembly, as opposed to the election of delegates to a constitutional convention, since it would entail less expenses and will take less time.
However, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, who is also the president of the ruling party PDP-Laban, said his personal position as a member of the Senate and as its leader is that the resolution authorizing the convening of the two houses of Congress into a constituent assembly to amend the Constitution should be passed by a three-fourths vote by the two houses, voting separately.