Press Release
July 15, 2012

AQUINO GOV'T BEST TIME FOR CHA-CHA

If the country seeks to amend the 1987 Constitution, it is best to do so while President Benigno Simeon Aquino III is in power, Senator Edgardo J. Angara said.

"This is the perfect opportunity for a favorable constitutional change because we have a president who is truly not interested in extending his term."

The veteran senator pointed out that Charter change has been rejected in the past because the proponents merely wanted to extend their term.

But now, according to Angara, the country can be assured that President Aquino has no interest in staying in power for more than one term.

While some legislators are pushing for Cha-cha to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution, Angara, a former Senate president, urged Congress to go beyond economic reforms and consider changing the political structure.

"Our weak political structure is the root cause of our slow progress. We should amend the constitutional provisions that make us so highly bureaucratic," Angara said.

"We have to empower the local government. We have to decentralize and transfer more control from the center, from Malacanang and Manila to the provinces. Our country will definitely grow," he added.

Angara further encouraged political parties to take a stand on the Chacha issue in time for the midterm elections next year.

"Until we have a genuine structural reform, we will not progress. It is high time to amend the Constitution in order for the Philippines to reach greater heights, in terms of economic and political growth," he concluded.

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