By Joann Santiago
MANILA, Oct. 4 (PNA) — A Malacanang official is hopeful that lawmakers who are supporting a proposal to change the Constitution will still have time to discuss priority bills.
Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte, in an interview over state-owned Radyo ng Bayan Saturday, said “everyone is free to push for their own advocacies and that does not exclude members of Congress or the President’s allies, in the same way that there are groups who have launched contrary initiatives.”
“The Congress – the House of Representatives and the Senate – have their own priority bills and hopefully, it (discussion on Charter Change) will not divert any time necessary for the hearings of other bills like the (national) budget and the Bangsamoro Basic Law,” she said.
She hopes that lawmakers will give the Administration’s priority bills the necessary attention.
Relatively, a recent survey by Pulse Asia asking people how they feel about any change in the Constitution and a second term for President Benigno Aquino III showed that 62 percent of the respondents said they are against these proposals.
Malacanang earlier said the President was not surprised by the result of the survey since he continues to get the public’s pulse on the issue.
“The survey is always a snapshot of people’s sentiment at a particular time that it was taken,” Valte added. (PNA)