Imee: I won't defend Aquino Constitution, but time not right for Cha-cha

Senator Imee Marcos clarified Friday that she is not against amending the 1987 Constitution, which she said was made against her family, but reiterated that it is not the right time to push for Charter change.

"Ako mismo, hindi ko ipagtatanggol 'yang Aquino na Konstitusyon. Siyempre Marcos ako. Maraming probisyon diyan eh talagang sinasabi paghihiganti, paninigurado na wala nang Marcos na uupo, may mga ganu'n na haka-haka. So, mangagaling sa akin na ipagtanggol iyang Constitution, parang ang labo," Marcos said in an ambush interview in Manila.

(I will not be the one who will defend a constitution made by an Aquino because I'm a Marcos. There are a lot of provisions there that they say are intended to get back at us and to ensure that there will be no Marcos who will be in power. So it is impossible for me to defend that constitution.)

She mentioned that there were commentaries claiming that she defends the 1987 Constitution crafted by the administration of late former president Corazon Aquino following the ouster of the senator's father, late former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

"Hindi ko naman iniisip ang sarili ko, ang aming pamilya. Iniisip ko lang ang taumbayan at ang buong Pilipinas… Tiis-tiis na nasanay na kami eh nahalal nga ang kapatid ko e. Isantabi muna ang aming hinanakit," Marcos said.

(I don't think of myself or my family. I think about the people and the entire country. We're already used to that. My brother was already elected as president. We are setting aside our resentment.)

"Pero ang totoo, hindi talaga napapanahon dahil ang dami nating problema ngayon. Kaka-recover lang natin sa pandemic, pabalik na naman, paikot-ikot 'yang virus na 'yan, at hindi pa sapat talaga ang pagbangon at  pagbigay ng trabaho sa taumbayan," she added.

(But the truth is, this is not the time because we have a lot of problems right now. We just recovered from the pandemic and there are emerging health concerns right now. We haven't fully recovered yet and there is the problem of unemployment in the country.)

While her brother, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said Charter change should focus on attracting investors in the country, Senator Imee Marcos said this distracts the government from addressing the real problems in the country.

"Kanina nagsabi daw si Presidente, tatanungin ko kung ano ang exactly sinabi pero nabigla ako kasi ang usapin nga namin eh talagang pangligoy ito sa ating kinakailangan nating tutukan, which ‘yung kabuhayan ng tao, presyo ng bigas, pamumuhay, at trabaho na kulang na kulang pa rin at hindi pa nakakabangon ang ating ekonomiya," she said.

(The President made a statement earlier today. I have yet to check what his exact words were but I was surprised because tackling charter change is a distraction from the problems that we should focus on, like the livelihood of the people, the prices of rice, the quality of life of Filipinos, unemployment, and our economic recovery.)

Among the problems Senator Marcos mentioned that need to be addressed are the Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) Modernization, prices of rice and fuel products, and the unemployment of Filipinos.

'Wag tayong mabudol'

With regard to the push in both the Senate and the House of Representatives for charter change, Senator Marcos said, "Para sa akin talaga, tuloy-tuloy dapat ang trabaho. 'Wag tayong maalintala, 'wag tayong ma-distract, 'wag tayong mabudol, ika nga, ng kung anu-anong usapin na tutumbukin pala ay pulitika lang."

(For me, we should continue our work. We should not be distracted. We should not be fooled by discussions aimed at gaining political advantage.)

Recently, Senator Marcos took a swipe at individuals pushing for Cha-cha and said that "someone might want to be a prime minister because the person can't win the presidency."

Senator Marcos made the remark when asked about the renewed interest in Cha-cha in the House of Representatives.

On the resolution filed by her colleague Senator Robin Padilla seeking term extensions for several positions by amending the Constitution, Senator Marcos said it is "self-serving."

"Parang nakakahiya naman, very self-serving naman. Nakaupo kami papa-extend kami hanggang forever. 'Wag na nakakahiya," she said.

She noted that Padilla's push for cha-cha has been denied twice in the Senate because of the lack of support from their fellow senators.

"Talagang binasura na ng Senado dalawang beses itong mga bicameral resolution. Ikatlo na ito, so tingan natin," she said.

(We already rejected that in the Senate twice. This will be the third proposal. Let's see.)

Earlier this week, Padilla filed the following amendments to the political provisions of the 1987 Constitution:

• Section 2 of Article. VI: The Senate shall have 54 members. Of these, 24 are elected at large, and 30 are elected by qualified voters from each legislative region.
• Section 4 of Article VI: Senators elected at large shall have terms of eight years, but shall not serve for more than two consecutive terms; senators elected by region shall have terms of four years, but shall not serve for more than three consecutive terms.
• Section 7 of Article 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.
• Section 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. A President 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.
• Section 8 of Article X: The term of office of elective local officials except barangay officials shall be four years. They shall serve no more than three consecutive terms.

Padilla, chairman of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes, earlier this year led a series of hearings on the measure he filed seeking to amend economic provisions of the Constitution.

While he released a draft report on the Cha-cha measure, it did not gain support from other members of the Senate.

People's initiative

Senator Cynthia Villar, Marcos' partymate in the Nacionalista Party, already expressed reservations about Charter change.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, a stalwart of PDP-Laban whose main advocacy is to change the type of government into federalism, said he supports moves to amend the political provisions of the Constitution, but not the economic provisions, especially if it will ease restrictions on foreign ownership of businesses and if it will allow foreigners to exploit the country's natural resources.

Further, Senator Marcos questioned the plans to amend the constitution through people’s initiative.

"Nalalabuan ako doon sa sinasabing people's initiative… maliit lang na pagbabago ang pupuwede at hindi naman puwede na ang Kongreso mag-isa, na wala 'yung Senado, ay boboto,” she said.

People's referendum

Last Monday, Speaker Martin Romualdez said the House of Representatives was keen on launching a people's referendum to determine how the House and Senate should vote on proposals amending the 1987 Constitution.

Romualdez, a first cousin of President Marcos and Senator Marcos, also said that congressmen will "focus" their attention on proposals regarding restrictions in the entry of foreign capital and investments including charter change.

The Speaker said Congress would "champion the cause of revisiting our present Constitution, a cause that is the key to unlocking the vast potential of the Philippine economy."

Under Article XVII of the 1987 Constitution, charter change can be done through:

• Congress upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members
• Constitutional Convention
• People's initiative upon a petition of at least 12% of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least 3% of the registered voters therein.

— VDV, GMA Integrated News