Several senators slammed efforts said to be emanating from the House of Representatives to amend the Constitution, a timeline for which was confirmed by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda.

The plebiscite Salceda was referring to was for the controversial People’s Initiative, or PI, to amend the Constitution.

The funding for the plebiscite, according to Senator Imee Marcos, was inserted into the Commission on Elections (Comelec) budget during the bicameral conference committee that reviewed and finalized the 2024 national budget.

She has warned the Comelec that it could face technical malversation if it would use the P12 billion “inserted” budget to fund efforts to amend the Constitution.

While Salceda confirmed that there is indeed a timeline to push Cha-cha, he refuted Kabataan’s claim that it would be Congress’ “gift” for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in time for his third State of the Nation Address coming 22 July.

He said revamping the nearly 37-year-old Constitution should commence now, where 2028 national polls are still years away, to guarantee the public that “this is not an attempt to extend President Marcos’ term.”

“The time to do it is now when there is also enough time to do it before the 2025 midterm elections,” Salceda added.

Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday slammed cha-cha anew. “I am strongly, with all due respect, cautioning my colleagues: The cha-cha journey is treacherous, impractical, divisive, and unwise,” she said.

“Why are we attempting to solve our economic problems by creating another problem?” she added.

Earlier this week, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri filed a Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 that also proposes the amendment to at least three economic provisions in the constitution.

Zubiri said the move was to “avert the Constitutional crisis between the House of Representatives and the Senate,” following the widespread signature petition for people’s initiative in various congressional districts in the country.

For Hontiveros, amending the Constitution can be transformative, but “not when it is triggered by multiple hidden agendas, power struggle, and in-group bickering.”

“If we want foreign investments, would it be better to strengthen first the investment in the country?” she said. “We need to build confidence in governance by eliminating corruption and improving our business environment, not by creating more instability through chacha.”

She added that amending economic provisions in the constitution that limit foreign ownership to crucial industries such as public utilities, education, and advertising would “only expose us to security risks and weaken our national interests in a time of global unrest.”

Citing the security risk and inadequate services of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, which nearly half of its shares are owned by China, Hontiveros warned that amending the economic provisions of the constitution would “not put an end to this, and other economic woes.”

“Let us not get distracted by the shiny allure of cha-cha when, beneath all the gloss, it will only trap us in a never-ending cycle of political maneuvering,” she added.

With Jom Garner