MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos will not truly feel the country’s progress without Charter change (Cha-cha), Senator Robin Padilla said Monday.
Padilla said that, like former presidents, it is unfortunate that incumbent President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is not prioritizing amending the 1987 Constitution.
READ: Charter change not needed to get foreign investments – Marcos
“I have heard from past presidents that they are not prioritizing amending the Constitution, particularly its economic provisions. It is sad because if we do not make the needed changes to the Charter’s economic provisions, ordinary Filipinos will not feel the benefits of progress for our Motherland or of improvements in their lot in life,” the senator said in a statement.
“The Foreign Direct Investments that we badly need cannot come true without the proper provisions from our Constitution. And most of the pledges by foreign investors from our leaders’ foreign trips will not materialize,” he added.
Noting that the Constitution is the fundamental law in any nation, Padilla said that he would pursue deliberations to update the country’s Charter.
“My job in the Senate is to benefit our Motherland and inform our people about what we are doing,” the neophyte senator stressed.
“As the President’s senatorial candidate in UniTeam, I support all his priority legislation. That said, I will pursue my own advocacies, with or without the President’s support, because that is my obligation to the people – and I will stay the course in the Senate, as part of our democracy,” he continued.
Padilla asserted that the public must know why the country’s growth “has been held back.”
“Whether or not my fellow senators support my advocacy, it is important that the people know why our growth as a nation has been held back – and what must be done to address this,” he said.
Earlier, Padilla’s colleagues in the upper chamber expressed their reservations about Cha-cha.
READ: Koko Pimentel, Grace Poe, Nancy Binay: Cha-cha is not needed at this time
Padilla proposed Cha-cha via a constituent assembly where the Senate and House of Representatives would vote separately.
READ: Padilla’s plea to senators vs Cha-cha at this time: ‘Consider it, no political revisions’