Comelec suspends indefinitely PI proceedings
Credit to Author: Mayen Jaymalin| Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0800
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has suspended all proceedings related to the people’s initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution.
“The commission en banc by a unanimous decision decided to suspend any and all proceedings concerning the people’s initiative,” Comelec Chairman George Garcia announced at a press conference yesterday.
Garcia said all election officers nationwide are directed to immediately refrain from accepting signature sheets for the people’s initiative, until the poll body can “review, enhance” Comelec Resolution No. 10650 governing the people’s initiative, or possibly “add” some provisions.
The poll chief emphasized their decision has nothing to do with the Senate’s objection to the people’s initiative.
He said they saw the need to review the existing guidelines amid numerous issues raised, such as the possible withdrawal of signatures and alleged bribery.
Garcia said the existing implementing rules and regulations have no provisions addressing the issues being raised even before a formal petition is filed before the Commission.
“In the end, we need to fix the problem, the confusion over the interpretation of rules,” Garcia pointed out.
He said the commission has no timeline and is not rushing its review of the IRR.
Garcia said the commission, acting as a whole, has designated the executive director to head the team tasked to review the rules and regulations.
So far, different Comelec local offices have received signature sheets from 209 of the 254 legislative districts nationwide.
All the accepted signature sheets, Garcia said, shall remain under the safekeeping of the local offices. The poll body can return them to signature drive proponents if they want.
Garcia stressed it is the right time to review the IRR while the commission has yet to receive a formal petition for a plebiscite on the Cha-cha move.
He also stressed the Comelec decision to suspend all proceedings on people’s initiative was not politically motivated.
“I hope nobody’s considering we’re siding with one group. There’s no politics here. The Comelec is saying we have to amend and enhance the rules,” Garcia explained.
He said 45 legislative districts have yet to submit signature pages to the Comelec local offices. Those congressional districts involve about seven million registered voters.
He said the Comelec is ready to answer any petition against its decision.
Sought for reaction to the Comelec’s resolution, People’s Initiative for Reform Modernization and Action (PIRMA) lead convenor Noel Oñate said they would wait for new guidelines from the poll body.
Senators said they welcomed the Comelec’s suspension of its proceedings for people’s initiative. “We’d like to also thank the Commission on Elections for taking cognizance of the fact that the rules are currently insufficient for this people’s initiative and for their commitment to motu propio review the rules,” Senate President Juan Miguel Zuribi said in his privilege speech at the plenary.
“Finally! This is a victory for the people! The government responded to the true feelings of the people. The battle is not over yet, let’s continue to pray and watch to ensure that the Constitution, which is the soul of our nation, is protected,” Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said.
Sen. Grace Poe said the Comelec has taken the correct path when it stopped the questionable Cha-cha signature campaign.
“A ‘people’s initiative’ that started on the wrong foot and tainted with controversy would not do the country and the people good. What we have before us is ‘pekeng initiative’ or fake initiative pushed by politicians and allegedly greased by money to deceive the public to support Cha-cha,” Poe added.
Sen. Nancy Binay also welcomed “the position taken by the Comelec” but emphasized “we should intensify our vigilance on the rotating signatures in our wards, barangays, on roads and plazas, in gatherings and other places.”
Sen. Risa Hontiveros also called for continued vigilance. “We will watch the Comelec every step of the way. In the end, I maintain that the proposal on the table is a revision and not an amendment, so no matter how it is reversed, this sham HOR-led initiative should be buried,” she said, referring to the House of Representatives by its initials.
“Glad to know that there are still many government officials who are sensible, who respect our Constitution and who will defend our democracy in the face of sinister attempts to subvert it,” Sen. JV Ejercito said.
House Deputy Minority leader France Castro called the development “welcome news.”
“To be honest, it’s just a waste of time,” said the ACT Teachers party-list representative, referring to the signature campaign.
“The signatures that were submitted to them will be wasted, and they will be withdrawn eventually. The efforts of the Comelec and the taxpayers’ money will also go to waste if they will entertain this fake initiative,” Castro added.
One of six electoral districts in Manila, meanwhile, has collected more than the percentage of signatures required for a petition for people’s initiative to proceed.
A Charter change supporter, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, said he personally believes the poll body is mandated under the 1987 Constitution to do its job, as provided for under Republic Act 6735 or the enabling law for the people’s initiative as Cha-cha mode.
“The Comelec cannot unilaterally defeat or delay an act of the people, by simply refusing to implement the provisions of the Constitution, the law and the rules and regulations Comelec itself issued under Resolution 10650 s 2020,” Salceda, House committee on ways and means chairman, pointed out.
“RA 6735 – which I helped draft as chief of staff of the late senator Raul Roco, its principal author – and its rules do not distinguish elected politicians from regular voters. Anybody can launch a people’s initiative,” Salceda maintained.
“As long as it meets the established requirements of form and procedure, the Comelec should allow it. The Supreme Court has tended to liberally construe popular action, so I would caution Comelec about this decision, as it will likely not stand in court,” he said.
In an interview over radio dwPM 630, Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares revealed they have started distributing withdrawal forms or affidavits to people wishing to withdraw their signatures from forms backing Charter change.
“That’s your opinion, that’s your personal right so you can withdraw it (signature),” Colmenares said.
A total of 17,836 signatures have already been collected from District 1 in Tondo, Manila so far, according to Marijune Uriarte, the district’s acting election officer.
She said the figure was more than the requirement of three percent of registered voters who consented to Charter change based on Comelec Resolution 10650 issued on Jan. 31, 2020.
District 1, which covers Barangays 1 to 146, hosts a total of 272,256 registered voters, she told The STAR yesterday.
The form stated the petitioners proposed changes to the Constitution, and asked willing individuals to fill out their names, addresses, voting precinct numbers and signatures, she said.
Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Manuel Dalipe said members of the chamber are skipping today’s Senate hearing on allegations of “signature buying” involving proponents of people’s initiative.
“While we appreciate Senator Imee Marcos’ open invitation, it seems we in the House have our hands full crafting legislation aimed at enhancing the lives of our fellow Filipinos. It’s a demanding task, but someone’s got to do it,” Dalipe said.
The Zamboanga City congressman lamented that while House members were focused on “building bridges, others seem more inclined to hunt for witches.”
“But rest assured, should our legislative schedule allow, we’d be more than willing to engage in fruitful discussions, preferably ones that construct, not deconstruct, our collective efforts for national progress,” Dalipe said.
Marcos, elder sister of President Marcos, chairs the Senate committee on electoral reforms.
House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan, for his part, called on some senators not to use the Church as a means or platform to air their political stand.
“As an ex-seminarian, I wish to address a matter of great concern that touches upon the sacred boundaries of faith and the operational ethics of politics. I have always believed in the separation of church and state, and in the purity of worship unblemished by worldly pursuits,” he said.
“I appeal to all leaders and citizens alike to uphold the blessedness of faith in public life, and to ensure that all our actions, words and prayers are consistent with the genuine pursuit of the greater good, under God’s guidance and grace,” Libanan added.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development, meanwhile, vowed to conduct its own probe on allegations of signature-for-cash, specifically on the activities of some people using the agency’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program to gather signatures.
“We welcome the initial findings of the committee of Sen. Ronald de la Rosa and the DSWD leadership vows to look into the leads that came out during the Jan. 23 Senate hearing,” Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said.
“We assure our senators and congressmen that the DSWD will take appropriate and legal actions if and when we have found out that there are guilty personnel in the agency,” Gatchalian pointed out.
The DSWD is conducting a massive information campaign in all payout areas, in addition to revising its payout criteria, according to assistant secretary for strategic communications Romel Lopez.
“The purpose of this campaign is to educate the beneficiaries that the payout grants belong solely to them, and that no one is permitted to take a cut or get a percentage after the payout has been made,” he said. — Sheila Crisostomo, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Delon Porcalla, Ghio Ong, Mark Ernest Villeza