MANILA - House Speaker Martin Romualdez wants to tap local government units in pursuing changes to the 1987 Constitution, claiming it has the backing of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

Speaking at the Awarding of the Seal of Good Local Government, the House Chief explained that they want to work on pursuing charter change through both the People's Initiative and Constituent Assembly Modes, citing that calling for a constitutional convention can be "very, very expensive and very tedious."

"I say this because we would like to undertake these twin methods of addressing constitutional amendments, if not revisions therein. And I’m telling you this right at the end of this year because the House of Representatives would like to take the cudgels and take this on in 2024. And I mention this to you because we cannot do this and we cannot be successful again without the help of our friends, our brothers and sisters in the LGU. So we would like to elicit your support," Romualdez told local executives at the event in Manila.

"In fact, we shall be communicating with you shortly and I have actually given a quick briefer to our Secretary of the Interior and Local Government. I look forward to 2024 when both the Congress and LGUs will be working together for the betterment of the Filipino people by introducing a new Constitution. ‘Yung sinasabing bagong Konstitusyon sa bagong Pilipinas," Romualdez added.

The House chief further said that they merely support the chief's executive's own desire for charter amendments.

Romualdez added that even the preceding administration backed charter change.

"But I cannot do this without you, and you the awardees will be the stalwarts in propagating this because it is our common dream to bring a better life to all Filipinos. And this is in consonance, with actually our President Ferdinand R. Marcos’ dream as well to look at the Constitution and see what portions can be amended or revised. And even the previous administration had espoused a federal form of government," he said.

This is the fourth time this week that Romualdez spoke publicly about the House's charter change plans for next year.