"Underneath the facade of principle, the real motive of its proponents is to change the term limits of elected officials and allow them to run again," Ople warned.
He quickly added that "these schemes will invite a political backlash, as they did during the Ramos administration." Term limits were instituted in the 1987 Constitution to prevent a repeat of the Marcos dictatorship.
Ople was referring to the fierce public criticism that then President Fidel Ramos ran into when he supported moves to amend the Charter.
Despite Ramos’ denials that he was not seeking a second term and that the amendments were only meant to boost economic growth, the Charter change bid triggered massive protests led by the influential Catholic Church and former President Corazon Aquino, eventually forcing Ramos to back off.
In the House of Representatives, House Minority Leader Carlos Padilla (LDP, Nueva Vizcaya) lauded the efforts of the Charter change proponents. He said their determination shows Congress’ independence.
"We admire the stand made especially by Deputy Speaker Raul Gonzalez and Rep. Antonio Nachura for their firm position that there are changes in the Constitution that need to be effected," Padilla said in a statement.
However, he said their efforts are futile. "Charter change cannot be implemented or even initiated if there is no budget even for a referendum, an allocation which needs the Palace’s go-signal," he said.