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Pulse Asia survey shows Pinoys reject Duterte admin's brand of Cha-cha--Garin
Pulse Asia survey shows Pinoys reject Duterte admin's brand of Cha-cha--Garin
At A Glance
- If the latest Pulse Asia survey succeeded at proving anything, it's that Filipinos reject the kind of Charter change (Cha-cha) that had been espoused during former president Rodrigo Duterte's term, said House Deputy Majority Leader Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin.
Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin (left), former president Rodrigo Duterte (PPAB, Malacañang photo)
If the latest Pulse Asia survey succeeded at proving anything, it's that Filipinos reject the kind of Charter change (Cha-cha) that had been espoused during former president Rodrigo Duterte's term.
House Deputy Majority Leader Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin, one of the staunch defenders of the ongoing bid for economic Cha-cha, offered this take during a press conference Monday, April 1.
In doing so, Garin joined the growing number of House members who have criticized the way the particular Pulse Asia survey was carried out. The results of the poll, conducted from March 6 to 10, showed that a whopping 74 percent of Filipinos think that the 1987 Constitution should never be amended.
The lady solon noted that while Pulse Asia is a reputable pollster, it unfortunately chose to lift topics from the Cha-cha proposal of the previous Duterte administration--which was more political in nature--for its survey questions.
Garin said this might have caused "coherence and accuracy" issues in the pollster's attempt to reflect public opinion the proposed constitutional revision that's being pushed in Congress under the current administration.
“The bigger problem is that hindi naman ito ang mga pinag-uusapan sa Cha-cha ngayong administrasyong ito. Itong mga tanong na ito ay kaakibat ng Cha-cha na pinag-usapan during the previous administration,” Garin said.
(The bigger problem is we're not talking about these things in the current administration's Cha-cha. These questions were connected with the call for Cha-cha during the previous administration. )
“So nung nagkaroon ng (So when there was a) call for federalism, call for no election, call for extension ng term, call for a shift to a unicameral system of government, this was all during the Duterte administration. Ito ang Cha-cha proposal sa panahon ni Pangulong Duterte,” she underscored.
(This was the Cha-cha proposal during President Duterte's time.)
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Garin reiterated that the current Cha-cha effort primarily focuses on discussing amendments to the restrictive economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution. In this regard, the House of Representatives has already approved Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 7.
By easing these economic provisions, the country is expected to get a boost on foreign direct investments (FDIs), which would in turn create more jobs for Filipinos.
The 1,200 respondents in last month's Pulse Asia poll were asked on their stand on extending the terms of office for national and local elective officials, shifting from a bicameral to a unicameral legislature, changing the presidential system of government to a parliamentary one, and changing the present unitary system of government to a federal system, to name a few.
Former president Duterte's tenure lasted from 2016 to 2022. By 2023, or the first full year of President Marcos' term, the House was already geared toward constitutional revision, but strictly on the economic provisions.