Charter Change not being discussed, Marcos focused on economy — Palace

Pursuing amendments to the 1987 Constitution is not on President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s table as of the moment as the Chief Executive is focused on addressing economic issues, Malacañang said Saturday.

"Hindi pa po iyan napag-uusapan sa ngayon (That is not being discussed at the moment)," President Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Atty. Claire Castro said.

"Naka-focus po kasi ang Pangulo sa pag-angat sa ekonomiya ng bansa at hindi po iyan napag-usapan sa huling meeting ng Pangulo with his Economic team nito lang Biyernes, January 30, 2026," Castro said.

(The President is focused on strengthening the country's economy. Charter change was not tackled in the President's last meeting with his economic team on Friday, January 30, 2026.)

This developed following the pronouncement of Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III that he would support plans to amend the 1987 Constitution, should there be any, after the Supreme Court upheld its ruling that declared the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte unconstitutional.

Sotto said the Senate and House of Representatives leadership should meet in the coming weeks to discuss the matter, stressing that the only solution he could see is to amend the Constitution.

"Ngunit kung may nagawa na silang hakbang patungkol dito, ito naman ay aaralin ng Pangulo," Castro said.

(But if they have already taken steps related to this, the President will study them.)

The Supreme Court announced Thursday that the high tribunal "denied with finality," by a unanimous vote, the motion for reconsideration filed by the House of Representatives, which sought to reverse the decision that declared the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte unconstitutional.

The High Court affirmed that the impeachment complaint transmitted to the Senate on February 5, 2025, was already barred by Article XI, Section 3, Subsection 5 of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, the Philippine economy as measured by gross domestic product (GDP)—the value of goods and services produced in a period—grew 4.4% in 2025, missing the government's target for the third straight year as climate-related disruptions and the dent on consumer and investor confidence caused by the flood control corruption scandal affected economic activities. — VDV, GMA Integrated News