Palace cold to Congress’ upcoming consultations on Cha-cha

Malacañang remained cold to lawmakers’ efforts to “sell" Charter Change (Cha-cha) nationwide through public consultations that will start on May 27. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte maintained amending the 1987 Constitution is not a priority of the administration, which she said is focusing on other things. “Hindi priority ng Palasyo ang Cha-cha at this point. Ating nakikita na dapat mag-concentrate tayo sa mga problema... and giving solution to those problems," she said on government radio dzRB. Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez had maintained it is high time the 1987 Constitution, which was ratified during the watch of the late former President Cory Aquino, be amended. The House of Representatives will hold its first public consultations on Cha-cha starting May 27. “We in the Lower House strongly believe it is high time to amend the Constitution," Rodriguez said in an article on Catholic News Philippines (CBCP) website. Rodriguez said neophyte Misamis Occidental Rep. Loreto Leo Ocampos, who chairs the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, will lead the public consultation at the Mindanao University of Science and Technology (MUST) gymnasium. Ocampos’ committee pushes through with the public consultations in an effort to “sell" Cha-cha and urge Filipinos to agree to a Con-Con (Constitutional Convention). — LBG, GMA News