Palace: DILG 'not exerting extra effort' in pushing for charter change
MANILA, Philippines — Charter change is not a priority of the government at a time when the country is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, Malacañang said Monday.
Previous reports said the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has ordered its regional offices to continue collecting up to two million signatures to support changes to the 1987 Constitution.
Among the amendments that are reportedly being pushed by the agency are allowing the entry of more foreign investments and designating all national taxes as source of internal revenue allotments for local governments.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the DILG's priority is to respond to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) but also said that pushing for charter change is part of the agency's mandate.
"Well, this has been explained by (DILG spokesman) Usec. (Jonathan) Malaya. It's not really a priority, they are continuing because the mechanism is there. But they are really focused now on COVID-19," Roque said at a press briefing.
"From what I understand, they're not exerting... any additional effort to push for charter change during this time of COVID-19. For me, it's always been a mandate of DILG. They should do it. Otherwise, they may be charged with dereliction (of duty) but at the same time, you can see that the primary attention of DILG is COVID-19," he added.
The shift towards a federal type of government is one of the campaign promises of President Rodrigo Duterte.
The president previously said federalism is needed to promote development in remote areas and to achieve lasting peace in conflict-infested Mindanao.
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