Rep. Antonio Nachura (Lakas, Samar) said proposed amendments to the Constitution have been met with "enthusiastic support" during consultations held in various parts of the country.
He said people in the cities of Baguio, Iloilo, Bacolod, Butuan, Dagupan and Cagayan de Oro expressed support for constitutional reform in contrast to the strong opposition to Charter change (Cha-cha) during the Ramos and Estrada administrations.
Nachura said constitutional experts have also expressed their support for Cha-cha. Former 1987 Constitutional Commission member Greg Tingson said the Constitution should march with the needs of the times.
All the chapter governors of Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) have also endorsed a resolution to amend the country’s 15-year-old Constitution in 2004.
IBP national president Teofilo Pilandos said some of the Constitution’s "prohibitory provisions," like term limits on certain public officials, were deemed as "no longer applicable" to the current situation.
However, Nachura did not specify if constitutional amendments would be among the talking points of the "political summit" proposed by Speaker Jose de Venecia and scheduled for May 3 to 5.
President Arroyo, who opposes the Cha-cha initiative, is supposed to speak before the summit, which was proposed to reduce political bickering and accomplish the national legislative agenda.
But Mrs. Arroyo, concerned that some politicians would take advantage of the summit to push their Cha-cha proposals, summoned the representatives of political parties to a Malacañang meeting to determine the summit’s agenda.
Mrs. Arroyo had earlier hinted that she would block the inclusion of Cha-cha in the agenda of the political summit and may opt not to participate if politicians insist on including it.
Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) head Secretary Gabriel Claudio said Cha-cha was not included in the proposed agenda of the political summit and Mrs. Arroyo wants to make sure it stays out.
He said there has been so much talk about Cha-cha that discussing it in a political summit might be inevitable.
Instead of focusing on Cha-cha, the Palace has urged legislators to prioritize 16 measures that remain pending in Congress.