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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Robin bats for amendments to 1986 Constitution

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Senator Robinhood Padilla on Tuesday underscored the need to amend the Constitution, saying so many changes have taken place over the past 35 years since it was ratified.

During the resumption of the hearing of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes which he chairs, Padilla cited the need to “adjust to what’s happening around us and the world since we are now in 2022.”

“We cannot afford to remain close-minded. We must remain open-minded because our world is changing. Everyone is now using the internet and anyone can run a business using computers,” he added.

While he is not singling out any particular President or Constitution, he said history has shown that Philippine Constitutions have undergone changes through time.

“I never blamed any particular leader or Constitution for the hardships we are facing. But what is clear is that change is a natural occurrence as time goes by, even for the Constitution,” he said.

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Padilla also noted the points raised by resource person Ateneo de Manila Prof. Anthony Amunategui Abad, that the Constitution adjusts to the needs of the times.

Even in the United States, Padilla said its Constitution has undergone amendments, such that it is now quite different from the original Constitution in 1776.

He reiterated that his committee will be fair and balanced in its hearings, and that everyone will have a voice.

According to Abad, it is time to make amendments to the 1987 Constitution to keep it attune to changes particularly in the international trade and investment.

“If your Constitution is an old constitutions, that’s holding back your economy. We will indeed be left behind by other countries like Vietnam and China.

He pointed out that the world today is very different from the world of 1986. Perhaps the 1986 Constitution has its valid points, good at the time when stability was needed,” he said.

Conceding that the Constitution is sacred, he said, still this is not a reason not to fix it.

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