Daily TribuneIt really shouldn’t be coincided with the mid-term elections. We cannot allow that the Constitution undergo political mudslinging and be politicized by what happens during a mid-term election where politicians go back and forth
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Members of the House of Representatives on Monday expressed firm backing for veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal’s proposal that holding a plebiscite to ratify the proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution should be separate from the 2025 polls.
Contrary to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s preference to coincide the Charter change plebiscite with the 2025 local and congressional elections, Macalintal contended that pushing so would be “unconstitutional.”
Macalintal’s position was deemed a welcome development by the House, which has opposed the synchronization of the plebiscite to the upcoming polls for fear that it might be tainted with political interest.
In a press conference at the House, Deputy Speaker David Suarez raised concern that politicians vying for a spot would take advantage of the push for constitutional amendments.
“It really shouldn’t be coincided with the mid-term elections. We cannot allow that the Constitution undergo political mudslinging and be politicized by what happens during a mid-term election where politicians go back and forth,” Suarez remarked.
“The Constitution is the supreme law of the land and we have to protect it [and] we have to uphold it. And in doing so, we have to make sure that when we do conduct amendments and go through a plebiscite for it, people’s attention and understanding is only focused on what we are talking about,” he continued.
House leaders have been calling for an earlier plebiscite to insulate cha-cha from political innuendos and to be used as a campaign slogan.
The petition, however, met fierce objection in the Senate, affirming Marcos’ standpoint that holding the plebiscite simultaneously with the polls would be cost-effective.
Previously, senators alleged that the House is railroading the process because it has a “hidden agenda.”
Citing Macalintal’s position, Suarez said that hustling the plebiscite has now “legal basis.”
