Most Filipinos do not consider Charter Change (cha-cha) an urgent national concern as they prefer the government to focus on controlling the increase in prices of basic goods and services.

Based on the results of OCTA's December 2023 "Tugon ng Masa" survey released on Monday, more than seven out of 10 Filipinos think that taming inflation is the most important national issue.

"In December 2023, the urgency of controlling the increase in basic goods and services prices persists among adult Filipinos. There is a substantial increase from 52 percent in July 2023 to the latest figure of 73 percent, marking a notable 21 percentage point increase," OCTA pointed out.

"It is also the top concern across major areas and income classes," it added.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the country's inflation rate declined for the third straight month to 3.9 percent in December 2023 from the 4.1 percent inflation rate observed in November.

The average inflation rate in 2023 was at 6 percent, beyond the government's planned range of 2 percent to 4 percent.

The country also saw a 10.0 percent increase in food inflation last December, with rice accounting for most of the rise at 17.9 percent, the highest since March 2009 when it reached 22.9 percent.

On the other hand, the second most pressing issue for adult Filipinos is to have more access to affordable food such as rice, vegetables, and meat (45 percent).

Concerns of Filipinos also include decreasing poverty (32 percent), raising worker compensation (34 percent), and generating jobs (36 percent).

Other Filipinos also want the government to focus on providing free quality education (15 percent), fighting graft and corruption (13 percent), promoting peace and order (10 percent), and combating criminality (8 percent).

Meanwhile, only one percent of Filipino adults see changing the 1987 Constitution, also known as Cha-cha, as a primary concern.

To recall, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said last year that he wants to push for Charter Change this year.

Romualdez added that he was keen on holding a people's referendum to decide how Congress should vote on amendments to the 1987 Constitution.

Senator Imee Marcos had also filed a resolution requesting a Senate review of Republic Act 6735, a statute allowing for a system of initiative and referendum amid alleged efforts to gather signatures to press for an amendment to change the Constitution.

OCTA Research conducted its face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adult Filipinos from December 10 to 14, 2023. A 95 percent confidence level meant that there was a ±3 percent chance of error across the whole country and a ±6% chance of error for Metro Manila, Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.