Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 3) — Presidential candidate Norberto Gonzales is already thinking of how to enact reforms in the political system after the 2022 national elections.
Speaking to supporters in Caloocan City, Gonzales says he is no longer paying attention to the surveys, which he continues to lag behind. Instead, he is looking ahead to see how he can push for change, starting with constitutional reform.
“Pagkatapos ng eleksyon ay patuloy ang ating pagbubuo ng samahan, pagbubuo ng grupo na tuloy-tuloy na makikipaglaban dito sa pagbabago na gusto natin. Kasi marami na nga nagsasabi sa akin na maaring mahihirapan tayo. Hindi natin kasi alam kung anong uri ng kongreso ang meron tayo pagkatapos ng eleksyon eh,” he said.
[Translation: After the elections, we will continue to form groups and organizations that will fight for the change we want to see. Several people have told me that we will have a hard time because we don’t know what type of congress we will have after the elections.]
Gonzales said he will call on the support of the Filipino people if congressmen and senators do not help in pushing for constitutional reform. He hopes those who expressed a desire for change will show up when he calls for meetings after the elections.
“Kailangan patuloy ang ating pagsasama at pag-aaral kung bakit kailangan natin baguhin ang konstitusyon, bakit natin kailangang baguhin ang sistema ng pagpapatakbo ng gobyerno. Parliamentary system na tayo,” he said.
[Translation: We need to keep our connection and study why we need to change our constitution, why we need to change our form of government to parliamentary system.]
The former defense secretary said it is important to help the Filipino people understand why these changes are necessary. He earlier said that his priority agenda if elected into office is to look into constitutional reform.
RELATED: Norberto Gonzales to prioritize studying constitutional reform
Switching to the federal system was among President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign promises in 2016. However, the President admitted he dropped the push for federalism in the middle of his term because he believes Filipinos were not ready for it.
RELATED: Duterte: Filipinos not yet ready for federalism
