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Zubiri addresses people’s initiative issue: Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz” F. Zubiri says President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. has agreed with the Senate that the proposed people’s initiative was too divisive and asked the upper chamber to take the lead in reviewing the economic provisions of the Constitution. This way, Zubiri said, the bicameral nature of legislation would be preserved. Zubiri said the proposal subject of the people’s initiative could have led to a constitutional crisis, destabilizing our bicameralism and upsetting the system of checks and balances. “While we respect and recognize the people as our sovereign, with the right to call for Constitutional change, we must guard against any attempt to revise the Constitution by exploiting our democratic process under the guise of a people’s initiative,” Zubiri said in his opening statement during Monday’s press conference at the Senate, January 15, 2024. Zubiri together with Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda met the President and the leadership of the House of Representatives on January 11, before the Vin D’Honneur, in order to raise concerns on the proposed amendment contained in the people's initiative. “The framers of the Constitution deliberately ensured that modifying it will be an arduous process, never to be taken lightly. We wish to assure the people that in reviewing the economic provisions of the Constitution, we will be circumspect. We are guided by the knowledge that our sovereign is watching, and that the work we do should represent no interest other than our people’s interest,” Zubiri pointed out. Meanwhile, Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 was filed at the Senate proposing amendments to certain economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, particularly on Articles XII, XIV, and XVI. The resolution was signed by Zubiri, Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, and Sen. Sonny Angara (Senate PRIB/Office of the Senate President)