The “war” against the 1987 Constitution has been launched from two fronts – one from the House of Representatives through people’s initiative by specifically making the voting procedure in the Constituent Assembly as joint voting collectively by Representatives and Senators, and not separately by the two Chambers; and the second is from the Senate through amendments by a Constituent Assembly with the House and Senate voting separately.

I believe these apparently separate efforts will end in a compromise by opening wide the economy to alien investments through a Constituent Assembly with the House and the Senate fast-tracking the approval of the constitutional amendment with the backing of both Chambers even voting separately. 

The victim will be the nation’s patrimony when sensitive enterprises like public service, education, media and advertisement will be open to alien control and domination.

The Cha-cha is out of step because the President and the Congress must address the crippling crises in the economy, agriculture, food security, education, fiscal deficit, debt burden, and China’s continuing aggression in the West Philippine Sea, the vast and rich territorial waters of which have been awarded in favor of the Philippines in 2016 by the International Arbitral Tribunal. 

The Charter change initiatives will divide and obfuscate the people and divert the efforts of the political departments from the real problems not attributable to the Constitution.

EDCEL C. LAGMAN