Marcos House allies eye Cha-cha plebiscite before SONA, says group

Allies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. are looking to amend the 1987 Constitution before he delivers his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22, 2024, the Kabataan party-list group said on Friday.

“Based on information gathered by Kabataan Partylist there is an existing timeline of execution of the controversial people's initiative for charter change. It appears that the plan for the petition was already rolling as early as December 15, 2023, and the target plebiscite is intended to be finished by July 8, 2024,” the group said.

“This is a very compressed timeline that, without a genuine people's movement spearheading the cause, can only be possible via wholesale patronage sourced from big business backing and state coffers,” it added.

A July plebiscite, the group said, would provide Marcos’ allies in the House the opportunity to hold a Constituent Assembly during the day of the SONA when members of Congress convene for a joint session.

“This is a perfect gift not only for Marcos Jr., but also for his foreign patrons from the United States and other monopoly capitalists eager to capture our economy and markets through a reversal of nationalist constitutional provisions on patrimony,” the group said.

“Opening up the 1987 Constitution with no clear or artificial mandates is dangerous for the future of our country. If ever, this would open a pandora's box where vested interests can unleash the worst self-serving constitutional revisions at the expense of the Filipino people,” it added.

Comments from Speaker Martin Romualdez of Leyte and House Majority Leader Mannix Dalipe of Zamboanga have already been sought, but they have yet to reply as of posting time.

Kabataan party-list lawmaker Raoul Manuel and opposition stalwart Edcel Lagman earlier flagged alleged attempts to hoodwink the people into affixing signatures in forms calling for Charter change by giving money and telling them that government subsidy to those in need will continue and expand provided that the beneficiaries support Charter change. 

House Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales II earlier said that the House is keen on pursuing people's initiative in amending the Constitution, saying the favorable sentiment of the people for Charter Change should not be held hostage by the opposition of the senators. —LDF, GMA Integrated News