"We are looking forward to the mid-term elections with high hopes of defeating administration candidates," said House Minority Leader and Sorsogon Rep. Francis Escudero, secretary-general of UNO.

One of the potential senatorial candidates of the opposition in next year’s polls, Escudero predicted that nothing would happen in the ongoing SenateHouse dialogue on the issue of Charter change.

Escudero cited the 50 signatures gathered by the minority to block the majority’s efforts to gather 195 signatures so it could proceed to amend the Charter via a resolution concurred in by three-fourths of all members of Congress both from the Senate and the House -voting together.

The 195 represent three-fourths of the combined membership of 236 congressmen and 24 senators.

Although confident of an opposition victory in the 2007 elections, Escudero cited the need for a "total revamp" within the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to prevent a repeat of what transpired in the 2004 presidential election.

He maintained that if the same Comelec that administered the 2004 elections would oversee the next polls, there is a possibility that the election results would be questioned again.

Meanwhile, opposition Rep. Imee Marcos expressed confidence that opposition bets would beat majority of the administration candidates poised to run in the 2007 local and national polls.

Marcos said the planned resurrection of the impeachment complaint this year in Congress is a major factor that would certainly benefit opposition bets since the public, according to her, already called for President Arroyo to step down from office.

Palace assures polls will be held in 2007, but unsure of extent

Malacañang yesterday said there will be elections in 2007, but it is unsure of the "nature and extent" of the coming polls due to the perceived groundswell for changes in the Constitution, particularly the shift to a parliamentary form of government.

Meanwhile, Palace officials are confident that Church leaders would soon soften their opposition against efforts to change the Constitution.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the scheduled elections in May 2007 would push through, but the current pace of efforts to amend the Constitution hints of possible changes in the posts at stake in the next elections.

"As far as we know, there will be elections in 2007, but as to the extent, that depends on what will happen between now and 2007," Bunye said in a press briefing.

"As to the nature and extent, we’ll have to await the developments," he said.

Bunye was reacting to a reported statement from House Minority Leader Francis Escudero that parliamentary elections would not happen by 2007 and that the political opposition is already preparing their election campaign for 2007, possibly including their list of senatorial bets for the coming elections.

Bunye said the question of whether senators or members of parliament would be voted for during the next elections is dependent upon "further developments," but "definitely the elections would be held."

Malacañang said efforts to change the Constitution now enjoy more support among the people, and that the Church is expected to soften its stand against Charter change with the government’s intensified education and information campaign on the benefits of the proposed changes in the political and economic provisions of the Constitution.

"We are confident that we can reach a consensus with our Church leaders on amending the Charter through dialogue and information sharing. I believe the Church is just as concerned as every Filipino about genuine economic and political reforms," Bunye said.

Bunye cited a recent survey which, he said, indicated that 62 percent of Filipinos are "now open to Charter change," saying that the shift in public opinion on the issue of Charter change was brought about by the government’s information campaign on the benefits of the proposed amendments to the political and economic provisions of the Constitution.

Bunye also criticized "doomsayers" on the issue of Charter change, as he reiterated the administration’s appeal for groups opposed to changing the Constitution to respect the people’s freedom and wisdom in making their decisions on whether to support the proposed changes. (David Cagahastian)