Marcos wants plebiscite to amend eco provisions in Constitution in 2025 elections
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. wants the plebiscite to amend some economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution to be done with the 2025 midterm elections, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said Monday.
Marcos met some senators in the Palace where he reiterated that the Senate must take the lead in amending the economic provisions of Constitution.
“You know, to be honest, the President mentioned awhile ago that he wanted to have a plebiscite in the 2025 elections because it’s clear that if we do that before the election, we would have to spend P12 to P14 billion,” Zubiri told reporters in a video.
“He said he wanted it to coincide with the 2025 elections. So if that’s the case, we do not need to rush. So we can take this up after the (Holy Week) break and complete and approve the resolution before the sine die. At least before the sine die is our target date,” he added.
The Holy Week break will be from March 23 to April 28. Congress adjourns sine die on May 25.
Zubiri said Marcos is asking Senator Sonny Angara to look at how to convince the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to add the question about the amendments to the Constitution behind the ballots.
He said that the Resolution of Both Houses No. 7 would most likely be passed after Congress goes on recess.
“We cannot finish this by March because we only have three weeks left. We still have many important measures to take up but definitely, the hearing will be continuous. We will have separate plenary sessions for that possibly after we get back from the March break,” Zubiri said.
The Comelec said it is capable of holding the May 2025 national and local polls simultaneously with the plebiscite for the proposals to amend the 1987 Constitution.
In a message to reporters, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the poll body has the capacity to hold the two electoral exercises using the Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC) that was recently awarded to the joint venture of Miru Systems.
"We already designed a sample ballot with a plebiscite question. The machines can accommodate ballots with questions requiring 'yes' or 'no' answers," he furthered.
Garcia said the Comelec will need is for Congress to mandate the simultaneous conduct of the plebiscite and the 2025 polls. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
