Former Senate President Franklin Drilon on Thursday, March 23 said the lack of trust is a major hurdle in the push for Charter change, noting that the people do not trust in politicians. “Ang mahirap sa katayuan natin, walang tiwala ang taumbayan sa pulitiko. Takot na kapag nagkaroon ng con-con (constitutional convention), bubuksan mo ang buong Saligang Batas at kung anu-ano na ang makakapasok diyan na mga interest (What is difficult about our situation is that the people do not trust politicians. Fear that when there is a con-con, you will open up the entire Constitution and what interests will enter there),” said Drilon in an interview with The Chiefs. As far as he is concerned, Drilon said proponents of Charter change should first convince the public about their intention in amending the charter. “There’s a mistrust on politicians. The public feels, kunwari lamang (it’s a farce). Ang dulo nito ay alisin ang term limit at pahabain ang term ng members of Congress (The end goal of this is to remove the term limits and extend the terms of the members of Congress),” he reiterated. Drilon also noted that another issue confronting Charter change efforts is the level of trust of Congress on each other, especially when both houses convene into a constituent assembly (Con-ass). “One of the issues is in a con-ass (constituent assembly), do we vote separately or jointly? Obviously, when you vote jointly, the Senate becomes irrelevant,” Drilon said. “That is why the Senate has been resisting such a situation because the Senate can become irrelevant,” he pointed out. But Drilon said he believes there is a need to amend the 1987 Constitution, which was heavily influenced by the country’s experiences during the Martial Law years. “It is one of the longest constitutions that we have in the world,” he said. “Hence, all the restrictions on government found its way in the Constitution because of fear that Martial Law can again be imposed,” he said. “The difficulty of our Constitution today is it really gives our policy makers no leeway,” he added. But if the intention is to change the economic provision only, Drilon said the formula that he and then House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte had proposed during the 15th Congress could achieve the objective. The former lawmaker said this can be done by inserting the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” in the economic provisions of the Constitution to allow policy makers more leeway to address the so-called restrictive provisions of the Constitution. He said inserting the phrase will authorize Congress to propose amendments for the economic provision without necessarily touching every word and phrase in the Constitution. “To me, there should be some flexibility. However, Cha-cha is not the be-all and end-all. It’s not a panacea to everything,” said Drilon. Drilon pointed out corruption and red tape are also the issues affecting the country’s investment climate.