Makati Shangri-La, Manila
February 8, 2024
“I will not stand idly by, but rather, will proactively confront these issues head on. For it is my sworn duty as elected President to preserve and defend the Constitution,” vowed President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. as he declared his commitment in ensuring the faithful execution of the fundamental law of the Philippines.
The President made this statement when he led the commemoration of this year’s Philippine Constitution Day with the members of the Philippine Constitution Association (PHILCONSA), Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC), House Representatives, diplomatic corps and other government officials.
“Our progenitors have made this pact for us to be one and united. Once we ‘start to destroy the Constitution, there will be a breakage in our society’. So it must be. So we must also honor our word,” he stated, urging his countrymen to safeguard the Constitution’s primacy and adhere to its provisions, procedures and precepts.
Likewise, the Chief Executive appealed to all concerned to stop the call for the separation of Mindanao. As the current leadership of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and other political leaders of the Island repudiate the proposal, he called the move a grave violation of the Constitution.
“Hindi ito ang Bagong Pilipinas na ating hinuhubog. Bagkus, ito ay pagwasak mismo sa ating bansang Pilipinas. Our Constitution calls for a united, undivided country… We will continue to defend it against any and all threats, external and internal,” he remarked.
Stressing that the country’s economic well-being is of distinctly important concern, President Marcos Jr. expressed the Administration’s support to healthy and democratic debates in pertaining to calls for amendment in the economic provisions of the Constitution.
“I will neither hinder this dialogue, nor encroach on the prerogatives of Congress and the sovereign will of the Filipino people… I want to make it clear: This Administration’s position in introducing reforms to our Constitution extends to economic matters alone, or those strategically aimed at boosting our country’s economy. Nothing more,” he added, further underscoring the Administration’s firm commitment to continue pushing hard to attract more foreign investments in realizing the ambition of achieving an upper middle-class income status by 2025.
“Rest assured, as President of our great Republic, I will continue to live up to the recognition you have bestowed upon me almost a decade ago, as a ‘Great Protector of the Constitution’,” President Marcos Jr. concluded in his message.
* * *