Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva expressed concern on the continuous push for People's Initiative (PI) to amend the existing Charter and reminded the public that they shouldn't be bought, paid, or taken advantage of in exchange for their signature.

"Kung meron pong nagoyo, nabudol, gustong magreklamo at bawiin ang kanilang pirma, huwag po kayong matakot magsumbong. Magpadala o magpost ng video, picture o screenshot ng mga text ng panunuhol (If there are those who are duped, tricked or want to complain or withdraw their signatures, don't be afraid to do so. Send or post videos, pictures or screehnshots of text messages of bribery)," he said in a video message.

"Pagbigay-alam niyo rin po sa amin ang inyong pangalan, tirahan at contact details para matulungan po namin kayo na maprotektahan at maipagtanggol ang inyong karapatan (Provide us with your name, address and contact details so we can help you protect your rights)," he added.

Villanueva said it's his duty as an employee of the Senate to provide information regarding the blatant and widespread signature campaign to abolish the Senate, and remove the checks and balances as well as the term limits of politicians.

He mentioned that the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philipines is the soul of the country and the foundation of public democracy.

"Kaya nga po sa loob ng halos apatnapung taon, hindi po basta-basta pinakialaman, binabago o ginagalaw ang ating Konstitusyon. Ngunit hindi po ibig sabihin na perpekto ito, maaaring may ilang probisyon na pwedeng makatulong sa ating bayan (That's why for the past 40 years, the Constitution is not easily interfered with, altered, or amended. But it doesn't mean it's perfect, they might be certain provisions that can help the country)," Villanueva explained.

"Uulitin ko po: hindi Cha Cha ang sagot sa problema sa mataas na presyo ng bilihin, sa kakulangan ng trabaho, mababang kita, krisis sa edukasyon, at marami pang iba (I'm going to say this again: Charter Change [Cha-cha] is not the answer to problems such as high price of goods, unemployment, low wages, educational crisis, and many more)," he added.

A week ago, seeking to avert a constitutional crisis, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said that the Senate, as tasked by President Marcos, would take the lead in the discussions of the economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution.

Zubiri said that the proposal subject of the people’s initiative could have led to a constitutional crisis, "destabilizing our bicameralism and upsetting the system of checks and balances."

"While we respect and recognize the people as our sovereign, with the right to call for Constitutional change, we must guard against any attempt to revise the Constitution by exploiting our democratic process under the guise of a people’s initiative," he stated.

Zubiri also mentioned that while the Constitution must be reviewed in keeping with the demands of the present and the possibilities of the future, "we believe that we must first exhaust all other avenues open to us, though policy-making and legislation."

According to him, Marcos said that the PI is "too divisive".