"If constitutional change is necessary to bring about economic and political reforms and a strong republic, the people must unite," Mrs. Arroyo told a huge gathering of the Jesus is Lord religious group, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last night at Rizal Park.
Accompanied by some members of her Cabinet, Mrs. Arroyo heard mass celebrated by former Jaime Cardinal Sin, former archbishop of Manila.
In his homily, Sin prayed that Mrs. Arroyo have the strength to "fight off forces seeking to divide the country." Sin, who has earlier opposed changes in the Constitution, made no comment.
Mrs. Arroyo urged the gathering to support her administration’s on-going campaign on terrorism, crime and corruption in her efforts to build a strong republic.
She said the country’s economic and political problems can be solved by making changes in the Constitution.
Meanwhile, Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said Mrs. Arroyo made her strongest pitch for amending the country’s Constitution in her speech last Saturday when she announced her decision to rejoin the 2004 presidential race.
Mrs. Arroyo told a rally in Clark Field, a former US air base in Pampanga, that there was a "need to change our system, to institute true reforms in our politics and our economy" and that the country has "began a meaningful debate on changes in the Constitution, particularly on the parliamentary and federal governments."
"That’s it," De Venecia said, adding there was no turning back on the issue of amending the Constitution.
He said a "grand coalition" of religious groups, political parties, business and academe will make the "final push" for Charter change by issuing a statement of support in two weeks time.
The group will include the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Jesus is Lord, El Shaddai, the Nationalist People’s Coalition, the Liberal Party and other members of the so-called "Sunshine Coalition" in the House of Representatives, De Venecia said.
The aim is to form a constituent assembly next month and introduce amendments by December. This will be followed by a 90-day information campaign on the amendments, to be ratified by a plebiscite.
If the timetable is followed, De Venecia said, the new members of parliament would be elected in the May polls aside from the president.
Article 17 of the Constitution provides three methods for making amendments: through a constitutional assembly, a constitutional convention or a people’s initiative.
In a constituent assembly, the legislature would propose amendments. In a constitutional convention, delegates elected by the people to the body would make the amendments. In a people’s initiative, at least 12 percent of the electorate may propose changes through a petition.
All amendments are to be ratified by the people in a plebiscite.
In March, the House of Representatives adopted Concurrent Resolution 16, which called for both chambers of Congress to convene into a constituent assembly to amend the country’s Charter.
It proposed changing the form of government from presidential to parliamentary with a unicameral legislature. A federal system would be adopted after a fixed ten-year transition period.
De Venecia, who is spearheading the Charter change initiative, said changing the current form of government will remove legislative gridlocks and speed up economic reforms and development.
A similar measure, Senate Concurrent Resolution 13, is currently pending in the Senate.
However, the Charter change drive remains in doubt because some senators, including Senate President Franklin Drilon, disagree with the House on when and how to introduce constitutional amendments.
They said changes should be made after the 2004 elections and through a constitutional convention.
Amendments made by a constituent assembly would be viewed with suspicion by a public wary of politicians who want to abuse their stay in public office, they said.
Charter change proposals during the administrations of Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada were shelved because of strong public opposition, fueled by suspicion that politicians only want to remove limits on their terms so they can remain in office.
Term limits were put in place in the Constitution when it was rewritten in 1986 to prevent a repeat of the brutal Marcos dictatorship as well as prevent abuse of power.