カテゴリー: Politics
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Comelec has not received petition or complaint on people’s initiative to amend Constitution
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has not yet received a petition or complaint against the signature campaign under the people’s initiative to support the push to amend the 1987 Constitution, its spokesperson said Wednesday.
In a “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon” briefing, Comelec Spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said if they receive a complaint, they will check if the poll body has jurisdiction over it.
He said they will also examine if it has an election offense has been committed and if it has probable cause so they can file a case in the regional trial courts; and whether the facts match the petition submitted to them.
“If this is an election offense, meaning the Comelec has jurisdiction over it if the law that is violated is an election offense case or criminal case, we will conduct a preliminary investigation. We will determine if there is probable cause so we can file criminal information in the regional trial courts. That is because the Comelec’s power relies on the election laws,” Laudiangco said.
Laudiangco said the Comelec will also validate if the signatures gathered are from real people or if they are still alive
However, if election offenses were not committed, other government agencies could investigate the alleged bribery involved in the people’s initiative.
“If election laws were not violated, other government agencies that have jurisdiction over this issue could address this and investigate it. If it is an issue of deception, that’s another story. It would also different is if it was an issue of using public funds. The important thing is, the Comelec supports all the government agencies, we will address all complaints based on jurisdiction, the law, and facts,” Laudiangco said.
It can be recalled that lawmakers claimed that some solons were involved in signature-buying for the people’s initiative.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman alleged that voters who would sign the petition for the people’s initiative would be given P100 each.
He and Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel also accused Ako Bicol of bribing Albay Mayors to convince their constituents to support Charter change.
Senator Imee Marcos previously said she heard reports that P20 million worth of government aid was being offered to congressional districts in exchange for 20,000 signatures from voters by January 13 to ensure their constituents would give the three percent of total voters per municipality needed for a People’s Initiative to gain ground in amending the Constitution. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
Marcos directs Senate to review Constitution eco provisions
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. directed the Senate to lead the review of the Constitution’s economic provisions, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said.
In a statement released Monday, Zubiri said that he, Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, the leadership of the House of Representatives, and Marcos met on January 11 to discuss issues with the proposed amendment in the people’s initiative.
“The President agreed with us that the proposal was too divisive, and asked the Senate to instead take the lead in reviewing the economic provisions of the Constitution. In this way, we can preserve our bicameral nature of legislation,” Zubiri said.
Zubiri also said that despite respecting and recognizing the people as sovereign, when it comes to amending the Charter, they “must guard against any attempt to revise the Constitution by exploiting our democratic process under the guise of a people’s initiative.”
“The People’s initiative on Article XVII, Sec. 1(1) of the Constitution stoked fears of the unknown among our citizens,” he said.
Zubiri explained that before presenting any proposal to amend or revise the Constitution to the people, lawmakers must identify the provisions being changed including its full text as well as its impact, effect, and the true intention behind it.
“The proposal subject of the people’s initiative could have led to a constitutional crisis, destabilizing our bicameralism and upsetting the system of checks and balances,” Zubiri said.
He said that while the Constitution should be reviewed to keep with the demands of the present, he said the lawmakers should first find other ways to address this through policy-making in legislation.
Zubiri also maintains that through the amendments to the Public Service Act (PSA), they were able to liberalize several industries to attract more foreign investments.
“The Senate stands firm behind the PSA as a landmark piece of legislation that reforms our economic landscape. We, however, recognize that a case assailing the constitutionality of Republic Act No. 11659 or the amendments to the Public Service Act is currently before the Supreme Court,” he said.
“As such, the Senate commits that it will work with the House of Representatives to remove all doubts on the constitutionality of the law by ensuring that the liberalized policies contained in the PSA can be implemented and relied on by investors as an enduring policy. It is only in this respect that the Senate can agree to modify the Constitution,” he added.
Zubiri said that the framers of the Constitution intentionally made the process of modifying it an “arduous process” or a process that requires serious effort and energy so that it would never be taken lightly.
“We wish to assure the people that in reviewing the economic provisions of the Constitution, we will be circumspect. We are guided by the knowledge that our sovereign is watching, and that the work we do should represent no interest other than our people’s interest,” Zubiri said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS