Amid a push from the House of Representatives to continue holding public dialogues on amending the 1987 Constitution, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday urged the government to focus instead on preserving the people’s values and addressing the basic economic concerns of most Filipino families.
“In a very controversial administration or political situation, ngayong galing tayo sa pandemic, additional distraction lang talaga ang Charter change,” Cayetano told reporters on February 14, 2023.
“So kung sa akin, I would urge those of us in government to concentrate on values, and then presyo-trabaho-kita,” he added.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had said over the weekend that Charter change is not a priority for Malacañang and that he would prefer to work with existing laws to attract foreign investments into the country.
Supporting the administration’s position on the matter, Cayetano recalled the decision of former President Rodrigo Duterte to hold off on constitutional amendments despite floating the idea of changing the country’s unitary republican form of government to a federal system during his administration.
“Sabi noon ng Pangulo, let’s take it slowly, unahin natin y’ung pagpapaganda ng ekonomiya, unahin nating mag-mature y’ung political system, at marami tayong pwedeng ipasa na mga batas at mga reforms even before we go to the constitution,” he said.
“So now if President Marcos feels na hindi dapat ngayon, then I will agree with him,” he added.
The senator acknowledged that the latest push for Charter change is motivated by perceived deficiencies in the 1987 Constitution, especially in the matter of foreign access to land and strategic economic sectors.
He pointed out, however, that “timing is important” in any move to amend the country’s basic law.
“Magiging tama y’ung timing kapag siguro nasagad na natin lahat ng pwedeng reforms through legislation, at ang natira na lang talaga is y’ung mismong mga provisions sa constitution,” he said.
The senator said Filipino society should also gain further political maturity before tackling Charter change, especially since the 1987 Constitution has been in force for only 36 years.
“Part of it na rin is the political maturity ng ating bansa, as we’ve said. Remember, compared to many nations around the world, napakabata pa lang ng ating bansa,” he said.
Cayetano also underscored the need to reassure different sectors that politicians will not use any constitutional amendments to entrench themselves in power.
“We must really find a way that will guarantee all the sectors, including the church, including the youth, including NGOs, including the media, that politicians will not tinker with the constitution for their own benefit,” he said.