In a television interview, the President said she will formally ask Congress to begin public deliberations on pending measures seeking to rewrite the 1987 Constitution and correct its provisions which are said to be hampering the country’s economic progress.

“Next year, when Congress reopens, I plan to propose the holding of the Constitutional Convention, where we will propose to change the form of government to a parliamentary system, and the transition to a federal form of government,” she said.

Mrs. Arroyo is scheduled to deliver her second State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) under her new electoral mandate at the opening of the second regular session of the 13th Congress on July 25.

While expressing her preference on the mode of amending the Charter, the President has left to Congress  the timetable on when to hold the Constitutional Convention (ConCon) and elect its delegates.

“Yes, I do (favor the constitutional convention). But there are those who want a (Constituent) Assembly and those who want a convention,” she said, admitting that her preference for the ConCon may face some opposition from House leaders.

In last year’s SONA, Mrs. Arroyo asked Congress leaders to defer for a year any debate on amending or revising the Constitution so that they can concentrate on passing vital fiscal reform measures needed to bail out the country from its fiscal trouble.

According to her, the government is now preparing to move to the second phase of its economic reform agenda, following the enactment into law of at least three of the eight fiscal reform measures expected to raise some P80 to P100 billion in additional revenues.

Other revenue-generating measures include administrative reforms to boost tax collection, a fiscally responsible national budget, and the opening of the mining sector to generate thousands of new jobs for the people.

The second phase of the economic reform agenda calls for continuing some of the fiscal reforms more aggressively, notably the administrative measure to improve tax collection, the improvement of moral standards in the fight against graft and corruption, and bringing the benefits of new revenues from the fiscal reforms down to the masses.

Although she was originally lukewarm to amending the Constitution, the President is now in favor of rectifying some alleged flawed provisions in the Charter, because the Philippines has been left behind by neighboring countries in Asia, like Indonesia and Malaysia.

Some quarters have been pushing for a shift in the form of government due to the government’s failure to deliver progress to the people, notably in instituting vital reforms against corruption, immorality, and incompetence in the management of national affairs.

Proponents of the parliamentary or federal system of government had also argued against the present presidential, bicameral form proven by history to be ineffective in a democratic country that has remained largely divided by various beliefs and topography.