Press Release
January 18, 2018

Villanueva doubts Charter Change will solve nation's political, economic woes

Senator Joel Villanueva raised questions on Thursday if Charter Change (Cha-Cha) would indeed fix the country's most pressing problems.

His statement comes after the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision held its third hearing to discuss resolutions pending on the committee that seeks Constitutional amendment through a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con).

Villanueva first questioned if there is really a necessity for a Constitutional amendment.

"As a legislator, I would like to know what are the problems a Constitutional amendment is trying to resolve. I think we should have a national consensus on what these issues and principles are. Are these problems unsolvable without Charter Change or federalism?" Villanueva stated.

Proponents of charter change claim an amendment to the Constitution would bring forth lasting solution to poverty and economic inequality, and provide an effective mechanism to empower local governments by increasing their resources through distribution of wealth.

But Villanueva believes this proposal might not be the be-all and end-all solution to the problems that its proponents vow to resolve.

Villanueva however clarified that he remains open to Cha-Cha yet stated that the aforementioned problems may be remedied without the need for Constitutional amendments.

"I'm open to ChaCha because our Constitution is not perfect but I think the current limitations of the fundamental law can be addressed through legislation," the senator said in a social media post.

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