Bato against plebiscite after poll finds 88% against Cha-cha

Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa recommended abandoning plans for a plebiscite after a Pulse Asia survey found that 88% of Filipinos were against Charter change.

In a radio interview on Saturday, dela Rosa said that it would be a waste of time and money to hold a plebiscite if there was a negative outlook on the result.

“Kahit na pro-economic Cha-cha ako, kung masiguro natin talaga na di papasa sa plebisita sa taumbayan, then why spend that much money [na] masasayang lang [at] mapupunta lang din sa wala?” he asked.

(Even if I am pro-economic Cha-cha, if we are sure that it won’t pass a plebiscite, then why spend that much money, which will just go to waste?)

The senator added that even though there was a possibility that a hearing on the plebiscite may change opinions, he still wasn’t hopeful about the results.

“Theres a possibility kung patuloy ang hearing mamaya, aakyat yung confidence ng tao magbasa nung kanilang stand dahil narinig nila sa mga pagdinig, sa mga hearings ang mga pros and cons. Baka posible pang magbago stand nila at yung general sentiment mag-swing towards favoring that,” dela Rosa said.

“I’m not that hopeful pero pinagusapan lang natin dito yung tsansa, baka lang. Pero kung ganon talaga manatiling ganon stand ng taumbayan na ayaw nila, that would be an exercise in futility kung itutuloy natin at gagastos lang tayo ng ganong kalaking pera eh sayang naman,” he added.

He also agreed with minority leader Senator Pimentel’s suggestion that the plebiscite be moved to 2025.

As to changing political provisions in the constitution, dela Rosa believed that this would further displease Filipinos and might create trust issues.

“Ako lang, kung i-full blast natin na Cha-cha, ma-maintain lang natin yung voting separately talaga. Meaning to say yung boses ng Senado, hindi mawawala… Kung di natin maayos, kahit economic Cha-cha, di ako papayag kung di magkakaroon ng voting separately,” he said.

(For me, if we go all out for Cha-cha, we have to maintain voting separately. This means that the voice of the Senate will not disappear… If we don’t fix this, I will not approve even the economic Cha-cha if we won’t be voting separately.) — DVM, GMA Integrated News