House Deputy Speaker Antipolo City 1st district Rep. Ronaldo "Ronnie" Puno says the Philippines has reached the point that only a hard reset via Charter Change (Cha-cha) can save it.

This, as Puno raised institutional problems and political ills such as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood control projects corruption scandal and the tendency of Philippine presidents to get jailed once they step down from office.

"Ang tingin namin itong gubyerno natin ngayon, yung legislatura, maraming flood control issues, daming problema. Anong gagawin? Ire-organize na rin natin (In our view, our government has many problems, like in the legislature, there are the many flood control issues. What should be do? Let's re-organize as well)," Puno said in an interview with House reporters on Thursday, Nov. 13.

The Cha-cha proponent said that's exactly what President Marcos did to straighten up the DPWH after the latter exposed the flood control projects mess.

"Yung Department of Public Works [and Highways], maraming problema. Anong ginawa ng Pangulo? Nire-organize niya di ba? (The DPWH is riddled with problems. What did the President do? He re-organized it, right?)" Puno said.

The House Committee on Constitutional Amendments has scheduled a marathon hearing on Dec 3 to tackle all filed measures calling for the revision of the 1987 Constitution this 20th Congress.

While Cha-cha has been a recurring topic in the House for decades--and hardly ever prospering beyond the chamber--Puno believes that the time for systemic change is now.

"Sa tingin ko ha, kasi 35 years mahigit na, di natin pinapalitan ang ating Konstitusyon. Napakarami nating mga problemang nakita. Sa anim na presidente natin, tatlo na yung nakulong. Normal ba yan sa demokrasya na every other president, makukulong?" the deputy speaker asked.

(I think, you know, it’s been more than 35 years and we haven’t changed our Constitution. We’ve seen so many problems. Out of our six presidents, three have been jailed. Is that normal in a democracy for every other president to end up in jail?)

The six people who served as president since the current Charter was enshrined were Corazon "Cory" Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph "Erap" Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Benigno "Noynoy" S. Aquino III, and Rodrigo Duterte.

Incumbent President Marcos will step down in June 2028.

"Baka may diperensiya na dapat ayusin sa Konstitusyon. Bakit nagkakaganon? Bakit nangkakaroon na posibilidad na ganitong pagka-abuso ng mga puder ay nangyayari, di ba? So immediate ito sa tingin ko yung dapat pagbabago sa Saligang Batas," Puno said.

(Maybe there’s something wrong in the Constitution that needs fixing. Why is this happening? Why is there even a possibility for such abuse of power to occur, right? So I think constitutional change is something that needs to happen immediately.)

Asked point-blank if overhauling the Charter can excise corruption in government--like those seen in the form of anomalous and "ghost" flood control projects--Puno said no, but claimed it would instead create a path for such scenario.

"Hindi naman wawakasan kasi siyempre ang corruption na sa isip at budhi ng tao yan eh. Dapat mawala yun. Kaya lang baka pwede tayong gumawa ng Konstitusyon na medyo titigasan ano yung mga institution natin, patitibayin lahat yan para yung mga nang-aabuso medyo mahihirapan," he said.

(Corruption won’t simply end, because it’s rooted in people’s minds and conscience. That needs to be eradicated. But maybe we can craft a Constitution that strengthens our institutions, make them more robust so that those who abuse power will have a harder time.)

The Antipolo lawmaker reckoned that the existing Charter was no longer attuned to the times, thus the need for a revision.

"Ang ating Saligang Batas kasi medyo napagmadali, so hindi siguro angkop na yan sa lahat na mga nakikita natin pagsubok ngayon eh (Our Constitution was somewhat rushed, so perhaps it’s no longer suited to the challenges we’re seeing today)," he said.

Last Tuesday, Nov. 11, Puno led his National Unity Party (NUP) party-mates in filing House Bill (HB) No.5870, which sought to convene a Constitutional Convention (ConCon) to propose amendments to and modernize the 1987 Constitution.