Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio raised a red flag over the proposed People's Initiative (PI) on constitutional amendments, claiming it would lead to a constitutional crisis.

In a television interview on Sunday, Carpio said that the PI, which he called "unconstitutional," could further give the House of Representatives unilateral power to abolish the Senate and key government agencies on their own and even reshape the entire government.

He added that the members of the Congress can also convert the government to a parliamentary system even if the senators oppose it.

By granting the House unchecked power to reshape the government, Carpio said it undermines the critical checks and balances essential to a functioning democracy.

"Under their current people's initiative proposal, if that passes, only the House can convene as a constituent assembly to suggest amendments to the constitution," Carpio said.

"The proposal of the House in this people's initiative is that only they can propose changes to the Constitution. So there will really be a change, our landscape will change, the political environment will change," Carpio added.

One of the three proposed constitutional amendments, the People's Initiative, calls for senators and members of Congress to vote on proposed changes to the Constitution together rather than separately as the two chambers of Congress.

Under the current Constitution, both the House and the Senate must agree to convene a Constituent Assembly (ConAss) and pass any amendments with a 3/4 vote from each chamber.

However, Carpio said the proposed PI seeks to change these rules, allowing the House Speaker or Senate President to call a ConAss without needing the other chamber's consent.

Carpio argues that this would effectively empower the House, with its 316 members, to bypass the Senate's 24 members and push through amendments with only a 3/4 vote of the total assembly, which could potentially be filled solely by House representatives.

"The House Speaker can call the Constituent Assembly, and the votes of the 255 House members can pass that proposal," Carpio stated, highlighting the potential for the House to act independently.

"They can convert the government to parliamentary even if 24 senators oppose; it doesn't matter if 255 members of the House approve. They can change anything in the Constitution."

Furthermore, Carpio expressed concern that the public ratification process for such amendments might be skewed towards approval, as historically, plebiscites held separately from elections tend to see lower turnout, favoring proponents of the changes.

"Those who will vote are those in favor of the amendment," Carpio explained. "For example, if there are 60 million registered voters, maybe 10 million will vote. Then, of the 10 million, the majority of the votes are needed. So, 5 million + 1 is enough to pass."