Isko Moreno: Clamor to amend Constitution must come from the people

MANILA, Philippines— “If there’s no demand from the people. Why touch it?”

Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno said this as he stressed that any clamor to amend the Constitution must come from the people when sought for comment on calls to amend the Constitution.

“Dapat ang constitutional change, from the bottom up, doon nanggagaling ang demand. If there’s no demand from the people. Why touch it? Why fix something that is not broken?” Moreno said in an interview over ANC on Friday.

(Constitutional change must come from the bottom to up, that’s where demand must come from. If there’s no demand from the people. Why touch it?)

“It may have a deficiency, that I agree, maybe. Maybe outdated with the demand of time and technology. What matters most is how to defeat COVID-19 and utilize whatever resources still remaining in our treasury,” he went on.

The League of Municipalities of the Philippines is pushing to amend the Constitution to increase local governments’ internal revenue allotment and lift restrictions on foreign investments in unspecified industries.

Moreno added that suppressing the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections should be a priority over Charter change.

“I agree with any development at any given time in a normal situation. That’s why we elect congressmen and senators to change laws. In this case, if it can help, later on, why not? But for now, please, let’s just focus muna dito kay COVID-19,” Moreno said.

“Let’s focus on how we’re going to survive suppressing the numbers or the growth of COVID-19,” he noted.

Despite critics questioning the timing of pushing for Charter change, the Department of the Interior and Local Government said amendments to the Constitution are connected to the pandemic by bringing development to the countryside.

However, both Malacañang and the Senate said Charter change is not a priority of the government.

/MUF