NORMAL lamang umano sa isang demokrasya na mabago ang Konstitusyon nito at maraming bansa umano ang gumagawa nito upang maging angkop sa kanilang kasalukuyang kalagayan.

Ito ang sinabi ni House Committee on Ways and Means chairperson at Albay Rep. Joey Salceda kaugnay ng mga ulat na isinusulong ang pagbabago sa economic provisions ng 1987 Constitution sa pamamagitan ng People’s Initiative upang mas maging bukas sa dayuhang mamumuhunan ang bansa.

“The need for urgent revisions in the Constitution, particularly on the economic front, has long been the consensus in the House of Representatives,” ani Salceda. “The leadership of the President’s coalition, including the President’s own party, has also been devoted to the idea of Charter Change. As such, the political mass necessary for constitutional change is there.”

Sinabi ni Salceda na binabago ang Konstitusyon upang maging angkop sa sitwasyon ng bansa.

“The US Constitution, the model constitution for Republics like ours, has been amended 27 times, with the first amendments being made just months after the Constitution went into effect,” sabi ni Salceda.

“In contrast, we have not amended the 1987 Constitution for almost 40 years now, despite having provisions that obviously require revision. In many ways, we are unnatural for the way we hold the 1987 Constitution as if it were unerring,” dagdag pa ng kongresista.

Sinabi ni Salceda na ilang beses ng tinangka ng Kamara na amyendahan ang Saligang Batas subalit hindi ito umuusad sa Senado.

“Being nationally elected representatives of the people, it should be more encouraging to Senators to heed the electorate’s call via People’s Initiative. As such, I support ongoing efforts to initiate Charter Change through the direct involvement of the voters,” saad pa ni Salceda.

Ipinunto ni Salceda na makabubuti kung isusulong na ang pag-amyenda sa Konstitusyon ngayong malayo pa ang 2028 kung kailan matatapos ang termino ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. dahil pagdududahan na ito ay para sa pagpapalawig ng kanyang termino.

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

“There are constitutionally-provided processes of initiating Charter Change, and there is a process for opposing Charter Change. Let us go through the process, proponents and opponents alike,” dagdag pa ng mambabatas.