ASEANEWS HEADLINE: MANILA – More Filipinos oppose Cha-cha
MORE Filipinos are opposed to amending the 1987 Constitution, with two out of every three people rejecting the proposal to shift to a federal system of government, according to the latest Pulse Asia survey.
The poll, conducted on June 15 to 21 or two weeks before President Rodrigo Duterte’s Consultative Committee (ConCom) completed a draft federal constitution, found that 67 percent of Filipinos opposed Charter change (Cha-cha), against 18 percent who favored it and 14 percent who said they didn’t know or couldn’t answer.
Of those who said no, 30 percent said the charter should not be amended now, but could be changed sometime in the future, while 37 percent said it should not be changed “now or any other time.”
“[T]he overall level of support for charter change now declines (-5 percentage points) while public opposition against it now and in the future becomes more notable (+5 percentage points),” Pulse Asia said on Monday.
In all geographic areas and most socioeconomic classes, Pulse Asia found “majority” levels of opposition to Cha-cha.
It noted big pluralities in Metro Manila (40 percent), the rest of Luzon (40 percent), the Visayas (43 percent), and Class D (38 percent) of those against Cha-cha now and in the future.
About the same percentages of those in Class E either rejected it now and in the future (32 percent) or were opposed it now but might be supportive of it in the future (30 percent).
In Mindanao and Class ABC, similar proportions of respondents were opposed to Cha-cha now but might be open to it in the future (34 percent and 30 percent, respectively), support it now (28 percent and 25 percent, respectively), or were opposed to it now and in the future (26 percent and 38 percent, respectively).
The level of support for amending the 1987 Constitution also declined in Metro Manila (-17 percentage points), while opposition was more pronounced in the Visayas (+15 percentage points) and Class E (+12 percentage points).
Weak support for federal system
The same survey found 62 percent of Filipinos saying they were not in favor of replacing the present unitary system of government with a federal one.
Of those who opposed the adoption of federalism, 34 percent said the system of government shouldn’t be changed “now or any other time,” while 28 percent agreed that it might be changed “sometime in the future.”
With the exception of Mindanao (45 percent), majority levels of opposition were registered across geographic areas and socioeconomic classes, at 56 percent to 72 percent and 54 percent to 68 percent, respectively.
Only 28 percent support the change to a federal system, while 10 percent were ambivalent on the matter, Pulse Asia said. A simple majority of Mindanaoans (51 percent) backed moves to shift to a federal government.
The shift to federalism is among the key promises of the Duterte administration.
Duterte, the first president from Mindanao, promised to spread political power and resources long monopolized by Manila.
Little knowledge
The survey, however, found that 69 percent had “little to no knowledge” of the proposed federal form of government while 31 percent said they knew a “great deal to sufficient.”
Thirty-one percent of respondents know at least enough about the matter, with 8 percent having much knowledge about it and 22 percent knowing enough.
“From March to June 2018, the only significant change is the increase in the percentage of Metro Manilans with little/almost no/no knowledge at all about the proposed federal system (+15 percentage points) and the consequent decline in the percentage of Metro Manilans with at least enough knowledge about it (-15 percentage points),” Pulse Asia said.
The survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,800 representative adults 18 years old and above. It had a ±2 percent error margin at the 95 percent confidence level. The subnational error margins were ±6 percent for Metro Manila, ±3 percent for Balance of Luzon (Luzon except Metro Manila), and ±5 percent for both the Visayas and Mindanao.
Despite the results of the Pulse Asia survey, Malacañang is not giving up on moves to amend the Constitution to pave the way for a federal form of government.
In a statement, Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said there would be no letup on efforts to convince the public to support the shift in the form of government.
“For this reason, we cannot expect our people to support an initiative, which they know only little about. There is clearly much work to be done in terms of spreading awareness and knowledge on the aforementioned issue,” Roque said.
“We will therefore exert even more effort to inform and educate our citizens about federalism since the approval of the proposed changes in our current Charter ultimately lies in the hands of the Filipino people,” he added.
‘No popular clamor’
Sen. Grace Poe, in a statement, said the latest survey showed that there was no palpable popular clamor for a new constitution and that ordinary Filipinos remained clueless as to how such move could address their problems.
“There is no proof that a brand new one (constitution) is the magical cure-all to the country’s manifold problems like the rising prices of food, poor infrastructure, the lack of jobs, pollution and a health system that can barely take care of the sick,” she added.
The senator said she would study the proposed federal constitution and oppose any moves to railroad its adoption.
“A document as important as the basic law should be rigorously studied, and not railroaded. I will block any Cha-cha express, especially one driven by people with expiring terms and fueled by selfish interest,” Poe said.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the proponents of Cha-cha were the ones to blame for the increasing opposition to it.
“There is no one else to blame for the rising opposition against Charter change but the very people advocating for it, particularly those in Congress, who muddled the issue and are planning to use Charter change to suspend the election and extend their term,” Drilon said.
The minority leader said postponing elections would mean that when the terms of elected officials expire on July 2019, the President could appoint 12 senators, all congressmen, all governors, all mayors and all local officials.
Opposition Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan cautioned the administration against forcing charter change, saying it should not test the people’s patience as doing so might result in the further decline of ratings and the defeat of its candidates in next year’s polls.
‘Support Cha-cha and lose public support’
In the House, opposition lawmakers warned that those pushing for Cha-cha risked losing public support while administration allies remained firm that the public only needed to be better informed to get on board Cha-cha.
“The survey shows that President Duterte’s push to amend the Constitution and shift to a federal form of government is an initiative of politicians, by politicians, for politicians. The people see right through and reject their self-interested motives,” Rep. Antonio Tinio of Alliance of Concerned party-list said in a statement.
Rep. Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna said: “The message is very clear: better stop it now, or face the peoples’ wrath.”
Rep. Tomasito Villarin of Akbayan party-list, for his part, described the survey results as a rude awakening for the stubborn Duterte administration.
“All surveys are consistent that a big majority don’t want charter change now and in the future. Forcing the issue of charter change reeks of arrogance and insensitivity to the plight of the poor already burdened by high cost of living and dying from a fake war against illegal drugs,” Villarin said.
But for Deputy Speaker Gwendolyn Garcia of Cebu, as well as Representatives Luis Raymund Villafuerte of Camarines Sur and Gus Tambunting of Parañaque City, hope springs eternal.
“Certainly, now is not the time to give up. We are in full support of the President’s advocacy, so we will continue to push for this shift to a federal constitution. Perhaps, we [just]really need to keep a more open mind as regards the results of these surveys. There should be a massive information campaign to educate our people. Only an informed person can truly make an intelligent and responsible decision on the issue,” Garcia said.
Villafuerte, a three-time governor and vice chairman of the House committee on local government, said: “Local executives can kick off the information drive to educate the people about how this progressive form of government would be most beneficial for them by spreading the country’s economic gains to the countryside and raising rural incomes.”
Tambunting said it was the job of the ConCom members appointed by President Duterte to aid Congress in drafting a new constitution and the lawmakers themselves to frame the issues that would enable people to make an informed choice.
Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte has floated the possibility of postponing the 2019 polls to give way to Cha-cha discussions, but has yet to gain significant support.
Rep. Emerenciana de Jesus of Gabriela slammed Alvarez’s proposal, noting that such maneuver revealed the true intentions of the Cha-cha effort.
“Cha-cha is clearly self-serving, that is why we have to protest attempts to change the 1987 Constitution,” de Jesus said. / BY CATHERINE S. VALENTE, TMT ON
WITH JEFFERSON ANTIPORDA, LLANESCA T. PANTI AND MA. AGATHA NICOLE T. FABRICANTE (TMTC INTERN)
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