Several leaders of the House of Representatives on Tuesday denied Sen Imee Marcos’ claims that some lawmakers are allegedly pushing for a constituent assembly to amend the 1987 Constitution and extend the terms of incumbent elected officials.“We prefer not to comment on speculative political narratives or rumors,” said House Senior Deputy Speaker and South Cotabato 2nd District Rep. Ferdinand Hernandez in a statement to GMA News.The senator named him as one of the House leaders who allegedly attended a meeting where the said issues were discussed to thwart the presidential bid of Vice President Sara Duterte.“Our full focus remains entirely on our legislative duties, passing critical measures, and addressing the immediate needs of our constituents,” Hernandez said.The senator also named House Speaker Faustino Dy III as one of those present in the alleged meeting, but Dy has yet to comment on the issue.House Deputy Speaker and Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin said if such an agenda is indeed being pushed, then it would have been discussed with her and other House leaders.“Nothing that, none that we know of. Unang-una, kapag merong talagang seryosong ipu-pursue, sana nalaman ng mga liders ng Kongreso. Wala kaming narinig na ganyan, walang napag-usapan. Almost every week, we have meetings with the leadership,” Garin said in an ambush interview.(Nothing that, none that we know of. First of all, if it is being seriously pursued, then leaders of Congress would know about it. We did not hear anything like that, nothing of the sort was discussed. Almost every week, we have meetings with the leadership.)“So minsan kapag ang mga impormasyon ay hindi natin vina-validate, nagkakaroon ito ng komplikasyon kasi nakukuryente ang ibang tao. So there is no truth to any discussion on no-election and even extension of terms,” she said.(So sometimes if the information is not validated, there are complications and people get victimized by false information. So there is no truth to any discussion on no-election and even extension of terms.)Garin also denied that the no elections scenario and possible term extension were dangled before members of the House when they voted on the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.“Walang usapan doon na, ‘O sige bumoto kayo para no election, bumoto kayo para extension ng term.’ That is a very funny allegation. Hindi napag-usapan yon. The discussion was purely, if you believe that there is probable cause, vote for the committee report. Kung sa pananaw nyo naman, walang basehan, okay,” Garin stated.(There’s no talk like, ‘Okay vote for it so there’s no election, vote for extension of terms.’ That is a very funny allegation. That is not being talked about. The discussion was purely, if you believe that there is probable cause, vote for the committee report. If your opinion is that there’s no basis, then okay.)“Dalawa yan, no? Either nakuryente ‘yung nagsabi or para mailihis doon sa mga napag-uusapan,” she added.(It’s one of two things. Either the one who said it got duped with false information, or to divert the attention from issues being discussed.)During the Senate plenary session on Monday, Marcos accused the current administration of allegedly pushing for charter change and a possible extension of officials’ terms.In her privilege speech, Marcos presented a video that purportedly contained documentation, footage, and statements alleging efforts to amend the 1987 Constitution through a Constitutional Assembly.The same video also claimed that there were moves to extend the terms of incumbent officials until 2031, lower the age requirement for presidential candidates to 35 years old, and cancel the 2028 presidential elections.The video prompted sharp objections from several senators who sought to have her presentation stricken from the Senate records.A member of the House prosecution panel also denied that term extension was a factor in voting for Duterte’s impeachment.“Never brought up, never discussed and never was made a part of the consideration in the voting,” House impeachment prosecutor and Bukidnon 2nd District Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores said. — JMA, GMA News