+ A
A -
DPA
MANILA
A MAJORITY of Filipinos oppose efforts to amend the Philippines'1987 constitution and to shift to a federal form of government from the presidential system, a survey showed on Monday.
The poll, conducted nationwide on June 15-21, found that 67 per cent of Filipinos believe that the constitution should not be amended at this time, Manila-based pollster Pulse Asia Research Inc said.
Of the 67 percent, 37 per cent said the constitution should not be amended"now or any other time,"while 30 per cent said the constitution may be amended"sometime in the future."
Only 18 per cent expressed support for amending the constitution, while 14 per cent were undecided, Pulse Asia added.
The survey also found that 62 per cent of the 1,800 respondents do not favour the proposed shift to a federal form of government, while only 28 per cent agree with the switch and 10 per cent undecided.
President Rodrigo Duterte has been pushing for the shift to a federal system to decentralise power and wealth from Manila, empower regional governments, and avoid neglect of remote areas.
The change would also support the implementation of a 2014 peace agreement with the largest Muslim rebel group in the southern region of Mindanao, which calls for the creation of a new autonomous entity.
But Filipinos are generally wary of any moves to amend the constitution, which late dictator Ferdinand Marcos had used in the 1970s to prolong his stay in office.
Critics have warned that the current push for charter change could also be a way for Duterte and other politicians to stay in power beyond the end of their term in 2022.But the 73-year-old leader has repeatedly denied wanting to be president longer, and even noted that once the new form of government was in place, he would step down even if his term was not yet over.
