Sen. Imee Marcos (Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Imee Marcos on Friday said she will not defend the 1987 Constitution, which she also referred to as the “Aquino Constitution”, but amending it now would be untimely, as the Philippine government has more pressing issues to address.
“Ako mismo, hindi ko ipagtatanggol ang Aquino na Constitution. Syempre, Marcos ako. May mga probisyon d’yan e talagang sinasabi maghihiganti. Naninigurado na walang Marcos na uupo — may mga ganun na haka-haka so [‘yung] manggagaling sa akin na ipagtanggol ‘yang constitution ay parang malabo,” said Sen. Marcos in an ambush interview in Manila.
(I, myself, will not defend the Aquino Constitution. Of course, I’m a Marcos. There are provisions that actually imply revenge and guarantee that no Marcos will be elected — there are such speculations, so for me to defend the Constitution, it seems unlikely.)
“Pero ang totoo hindi talaga napapanahon dahil ang dami nating problema ngayon. Kare-recover pa lang natin sa pandemic, pabalik na naman at paikot-ikot ‘yang mga virus na ‘yan at hindi sapat ang pagbangon at pagbibigay ng trabaho para sa taumbayan,” Sen. Marcos added.
(But the truth is that it’s not really timely because we have so many problems today. We are just recovering from the pandemic, those viruses are coming back and are circulating and the jobs we give and provide to people are still not enough.)
She pointed out that discussions on Charter change (Cha-cha) are dead in the Senate and that the House of Representatives’ plan to use the People’s Initiative method to amend the Constitution confuses her.
“Ang intindi namin ang proseso ay hindi ganyan. May kaso na sa Supreme Court, ‘yung Santiago case [at] maliwanag doon na maliit lang na pagbabago ang pwede at hindi naman pwedeng ‘yung Kongreso mag isa at wala ang Senado ay boboto,” she explained.
(Our understanding of the process is not like that. There is already a case in the Supreme Court, the Santiago case [and] it is clear there that only minor changes are possible and Congress alone cannot vote without the Senate.)
She said some people are asking her why she is defending a Constitution that was issued post-Martial law and post-Marcos — a measure that is “against Marcoses.” But she noted that she is “not thinking about [herself] and her family.
“I’m just thinking about the people and the whole Philippines. It will not be good [to amend it] at this time,” she said.