More Pinoys oppose Cha-cha — Pulse Asia

Private pollster Pulse Asia said on Wednesday that for three out of four adult Filipinos, the 1987 Constitution should not be amended now or at any other time.

In its latest survey conducted earlier this month but released on Holy Week, Pulse Asia said three-fourths of the adult population (74 percent) said they do not see the need for Charter change.

Pulse Asia noted that the resistance to amending the Constitution at the national level increased by 43 percentage points in March this year from 31 percent in March 2023.

“This opinion is echoed by small to big majorities in the various areas and classes (69 percent to 82 percent and 58 percent to 80 percent, respectively),” Pulse Asia said in its corresponding report.

Pulse Asia also noted that eight percent of Filipino adults “do not see the need for Charter change now but are open to it under the next administration,” while another eight percent believe the Constitution “should be amended now.”

Meanwhile, the private pollster said six percent of Filipino adults oppose constitutional amendments now but support it at some other time under the incumbent administration.

The remaining four percent were undecided.

Opposition to Charter change was high in Mindanao, where 91 percent of respondents were opposed to it, followed by Balance Luzon or areas outside the National Capital Region (89 percent), the Visayas (85 percent), and Metro Manila (81 percent).

Conversely, support for amendments was highest in Metro Manila (14 percent), followed by the Visayas (15 percent), Mindanao (eight percent), and Balance Luzon (four percent).

The private pollster released its March 2024 results after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he wanted to amend the Constitution’s economic clauses to facilitate foreign investment and, ideally, generate more employment.

Marcos clarified that the political aspects of the Constitution, such as term limits, should be addressed at a later stage.