Marcos wants Cha-cha plebiscite in 2025 - Migz

House to adopt Senate's RBH 6 in toto

- CECILLE SUERTE FELIPE and DELON PORCALLA

President Marcos prefers to have a plebiscite on constitutional amendments synchronized with the 2025 midterm elections in order to save public funds, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said yesterday. 

This is far from the timeline of the House of Representatives, which is eyeing a plebiscite by July this year. The House is reportedly set to submit its Charter change proposal to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) before Congress goes on Holy Week break.

The Comelec said yesterday it is prepared to hold a Cha-cha plebiscite together with the 2025 midterm polls.

Zubiri said the President made known his wish at a meeting with him and 12 other senators at Malacañang yesterday after signing several laws, including the expanded centenarian law.

“The President, to be fair and honest, he mentioned that (Cha-cha). He prefers to have a plebiscite in the 2025 elections because it is very clear that if we do it before the elections, we will spend P12 billion to P14 billion. He said he prefers to have it at the same time as the 2025 elections, so in that case, we don’t have to hurry,” Zubiri told reporters.

The prospect of the two houses of Congress reaching common ground on Cha-cha brightened yesterday with Speaker Martin Romualdez’s voicing a commitment to adopt the Senate’s Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 in toto “to dispel doubts” that his chamber’s approach was politically motivated.