MANILA — House Deputy Majority Leader and Tingog Party-list Representative, Jude Acidre, on Saturday (30 March 2024) criticized the recent Pulse Asia survey on Charter change (Cha-cha) as “malicious” and “unfair.”
The survey, conducted from March 6 to 10, indicated that 88 percent of respondents were against any alterations to the 1987 Constitution, while only eight percent favored amendments.
Acidre argued that the survey’s questions and scenarios were designed to instill fear among Filipinos regarding Cha-cha, rendering the results invalid, unfair, and irrelevant to the current context.
He pointed out that the 1,200 respondents’ negative responses were influenced by politically charged questions concerning the extension of terms for national and local elective positions, a shift from a bicameral to unicameral legislature, a transition from a presidential to a parliamentary system, and a change from a unitary to a federal system.
“These political-themed amendments were not included in Resolution of Both Houses No. 7, which aims to relax restrictions on the economic provisions of the Charter. They were not discussed during our extensive deliberations in the House because they were never part of our agenda,” Acidre emphasized.
Meanwhile, a recent survey conducted by Tangere, showed that a good majority, or 52% of Filipinos favored Charter change.
(By el Amigo/MNM)
