MORE FILIPINOS OPPOSE CHARTER CHANGE, PULSE ASIA SURVEY SHOWS
Pulse Asia releases March survey results, says the number of those who oppose Charter Change has increased
Six out of 10 Filipinos, or 64 percent, now say that they are against the Charter Change, according to results of the Pulse Asia survey on March 23 to 28. This is 20 percentage points higher than the 44 percent recorded in July 2016. Of the 64 percent who are opposed to Charter change, half said that the Constitution “may be amended sometime in the future” while the other 32 per-cent said it “should not be amended now nor any other time.” Pulse Asia noted that the Filipinos are now more aware about the proposal to amend the Con-stitution. In the same survey, 66 percent of the respondents said they were not in favor of a plan to shift to a federal form of government, and only 27 percent backed the proposal.
The number of Filipinos who are against Charter Change has increased, based on the results of the Pulse Asia survey on March 23 to 28.
The survey showed that 6 out of 10, or 64 percent, are opposed to Charter change. This is 20 percentage points higher than the 44 percent recorded in July 2016.
Asked specifically on the plan to shift to a federal form of government, 66 percent said they were not in favor of the plan. Only 27 percent backed the proposal.
Pulse Asia also noted an uptick in public awareness, with 49 percent now mindful of the moves to change the Constitution, 8 percentage points higher than the 41 percent in July 2016.
Pulse Asia found that public support to amend the Constitution went down by 23 percent in March this year from 37 percent recorded in July 2016.
Of the 64 percent opposed to Charter change, half said the Constitution “may be amended sometime in the future” while the other 32 percent said it “should not be amended now nor any other time.”
President Rodrigo Duterte has sought to amend the Constitution to attain his goal of shifting to a federal form of goverment from the current unitary type of state.
Duterte believes that a federal government will correct inequality nationwide, especially in Mindanao, and eventually make the country progressive.
On Dec. 7, 2016, the President signed Executive Order 10, which formed a consultative committee that is tasked to study, conduct consultations, and review the provisions of the 1987 Constitution.
The committee is chaired by former Chief Justice Reynato Puno. It is holding a series of meetings to review the Constitution and come up with the recommendations that the President might endorse to Congress for consideration.
Opposition to the proposed Charter Change was most pronounced in Balance Luzon at 71 percent, followed by Metro Manila and Visayas, each at 59 percent.
In Duterte’s bailiwick in Mindanao, the survey found that 58 percent were not amenable to the idea of amending the Constitution. Only 24 percent of residents in Mindanao favored revisions in the Constitution.
Objection to planned amendments to the Constitution was evident in Classes ABC (61 percent), D (68 percent), and E (50 percent).