PRESIDENT Duterte was mum on Charter change and the move to federalism when he made his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday, as it was not the proper venue to discuss it.
Palace officials said the President would speak for 45 minutes, but his speech lasted for 1 hour and 33 minutes due to his ad libs.
He started his speech at 5:15 pm, more than hour after he was supposed to give his Sona before members of Congress.
“It is not the proper time to discuss [Charter change] now. It is better left in conferences that are not allowed to be opened to the public,” Duterte told reporters in an interview right after delivering his Sona.
The President added that an amended Charter will be presented to the public once the “package” is complete, including the pros and cons of the provisions.
“One provision alone has a lot of pros and cons. It will make you nauseous. Better for (officials) to talk about it among themselves and present the complete package to the public,”
Asked if he is still pushing for federalism, one of his key campaign promises, Duterte said: “Yes, but I said there are things that I cannot mention now.”
“Federalism is good but there are certain things that [should] be clear,” he said.
While he said establishing a federal government entails having a strong president since it is a “loose structure”, he admitted that it cannot be done within his term.
“One is that it devolves a lot of authority to local government . . . Until such time we have perfected it, there should be a strong president but I’m out of it. I think [federalism] will be passed beyond my time,” Duterte said.
The President earlier this month renewed his call to change the Constitution.
He told then contenders for the speakership, including now House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, that they should pursue Charter change while he is still the President.
In his Sona last year, the President seemed sober on his push for federalism as he did not call on lawmakers to deliberate on the draft federal constitution.
He just thanked and acknowledged Consultative Committee chair and former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno and its senior member, former Senate President Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr.
The Consultative Committee tasked to review the 1987 Constitution transmitted to the Office of the President its proposed changes to the Charter in July last year. Its main provision is to create 18 federated regions with more autonomy to control and utilize their revenues.
However, the results of a Pulse Asia survey last year indicated that majority of Filipinos are opposed to Charter change and federalism.