The South China Sea issue hangs in the balance, and Duterte has urged Marcos to resign

Mondo International Updated on 2024-02-01

There has been a series of confusion and controversy within the Philippines. The first is that Sebastian Duterte, the son of former Duterte in the Philippines, called for Marcos' resignation, accusing him of laziness and lack of empathy. At the same time, Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives Romualdez tried to amend the constitution, which raised questions among the public. Many believe that the purpose of the constitutional amendment is to serve the political self-interest of the Romualdez and Marcos families. In addition, the Philippine Election Commission has received signatures from all over the country in support of amending the Constitution, but the document is seen as a forced "loophole" move. These internal controversies have made the political situation in the Philippines even more volatile.

Duterte has been working to amend the Philippine Constitution to bring about a series of political and economic reforms. Recently, his ally, House Speaker Romualdez, introduced a constitutional amendment motion called the People's Initiative, which aims to amend the constitution through a new vote. According to the motion, the Constituent Assembly, composed of 24 senators and 316 deputies, would vote on a one-person-one-vote basis. At present, the vast majority of deputies are influenced by Romualdez, so the attitude of the 24 senators will be crucial to the passage of the constitutional amendment motion.

If this constitutional amendment motion passes, the Philippine political system will change from a republic to a parliamentary republic, and Romualdez is expected to become prime minister. However, the motion sparked widespread controversy. Some have questioned the People's Initiative signature as an organized and bogus campaign with significant resources behind it. Philippine Senate President Zubiri also objected to the House of Representatives' attempt to seize constitutional power, and he submitted a resolution calling for the constitutional amendment to be limited to economic provisions and not political content. Duterte urged Filipinos to "defend" the constitution, calling the Signature Challenge campaign disrespectful to the right of people to make free decisions.

The entire process was seen by many as a political drama, with Romuldez seen as an attempt to expand his own power and that of the Marcos family.

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