Libanan seeks to raise public awareness on Cha-cha through debate

FILE PHOTO: House Minority Floor Leader Marcelino Libanan of the 4Ps party-list group. INQUIRER FILES

ORAS, Eastern Samar — House Minority Floor Leader Marcelino Libanan of the 4Ps party-list group believed there should be a debate on Charter change so Filipinos would be enlightened.

Libanan, who was interviewed during a ground-breaking of a farm-to-market road connecting eight remote villages of this town on Tuesday (April 11), made this call amid opposition by most of the senators and other sectors to tinker with the 1987 Constitution.

The party-list congressman from Eastern Samar said it is incorrect to say that the move to amend the Constitution is “dead,” considering that 348 strong members of the House of Representatives have approved a resolution supporting it.

READ: House okays charter change via constitutional convention

He said a debate should be done so all issues would be discussed and in the process, Filipinos would be enlightened.

“The biggest mandate shall come from the people, directly. Meaning, I would encourage debate throughout the country so that when all the issues are out, the people will favor to amend the Constitution or not,” he said.

Earlier, the House of Representatives passed a resolution calling for a constitutional convention to amend or revise the 36-year-old Constitution.

Senator Imee Marcos, sister of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said in a previous interview that Charter change is “dead on arrival” in the Senate since most senators are against it.

READ: Senate, House clash over charter change mode

She said more pressing matters need to be addressed immediately by the country’s leaders, such as inflation, job creation, and improving the economy.

But Libanan said these were just the sentiments of the senators and “other voices” should be heard.

“We shall also hear the voices of others because the report to us is that people all over the country are very much interested in amending the Constitution,” he said.

READ: More Filipinos still oppose Charter change, but support for it grew – Pulse Asia

Libanan insisted that after almost three decades, the Constitution needs to be amended or revisited to make it more responsive to the needs of the current situation.

The House leader said that he supported the approval of the 1987 Constitution when he was still a student leader because it addresses the “needs of that time.”