People’s Initiative Is
Palace Initiative – Ex-Comelec Exec
“People’s initiative is an idea that comes
from the people, it is not an idea imposed on (them),” lawyer Mejol Sadain,
who retired from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) last February, said
in an interview with Bulatlat. “This thing they now call people’s
initiative is actually a Palace initiative.”
BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
Bulatlat
A former commissioner of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has scored
the ongoing campaign for charter change through the so-called people’s
initiative, saying what is being carried out is actually a “Palace
initiative” – referring to Malacańang Palace which is the highest seat of
political power in the Philippines.
“People’s initiative is an idea that comes from the people, it is not an
idea imposed on (them),” lawyer Mejol Sadain, who retired from the Comelec
last February, said in an interview with Bulatlat. “This thing they
now call people’s initiative is actually a Palace initiative.”
The Philippine
Constitution allows charter change through people’s initiative.
|
Activists conduct
oplan-bawi pirma
ARKIBONG BAYAN PHOTO |
Sigaw ng Bayan
(People’s Clamor), which describes itself as a non-government
organization, started the campaign for charter change through “people’s
initiative” late last month. The organization, led by lawyer Raul Lambino,
aims to gather five million signatures of voters in favor of charter
change. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo supported this campaign.
Sigaw ng Bayan’s
campaign generated controversy as a result of reports that some local
government officials are gathering signatures from their constituents in
exchange for food or money.
In interviews with Bulatlat
provincial correspondents, selected local government officials
and voters admitted that bribery indeed took place in the gathering of
signatures.
Sadain also
criticized Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez who said that the poll body
could validate signatures gathered for the so-called people’s initiative.
Under the Constitution, Sadain said that people’s initiative would require
the creation and filing of a petition to which signatures from the
electorate would be attached for validation by the Comelec. “The Comelec,
acting on the petition, will ask the petitioners to verify if these are
really the signatures of the electorate or voters,” Sadain explained.
He said that the
Comelec cannot entertain any petition for charter change through people’s
initiative without an enabling law. He cited the case of Santiago v.
Commission on Elections, in which the Supreme Court ruled that
Republic Act No. 6735 – which some “people’s initiative” proponents have
cited as a possible enabling law –is inadequate.
“The decision in
Santiago v. Commission on Elections is very clear: it is for
amendments to the Constitution, not revisions of the Constitution,” Sadain
pointed out. “So with that alone we already have a problem. You have to
present to the people amendments for them to react on, whether they are
for or against it. You don’t present revisions of the entire Constitution
to them, that’s too broad for the people to really digest.”
Sadain’s position is
in consonance with an earlier analysis written by Neri Javier Colmenares,
spokesperson of the broad-based Counsels for the Defense of Liberties (Codal).
Jimenez, however,
argued that while the Comelec cannot entertain petitions for charter
change through people’s initiative, it can verify the signatures.
Sadain scoffed at
this. “If, as the Comelec states, it cannot entertain a petition because
Santiago v. Commission on Elections specifies that there is no
enabling law to allow it to entertain such petition, why is it verifying
the signatures?” he said.
“They acknowledged
that they cannot accept the petition but at the same time they’re saying
they can verify the petition,” he added. “What is the purpose of verifying
signatures when in the ultimate analysis it cannot even accept such a
petition? Why persist in an activity which cannot have fruition?”
Bulatlat
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