Palace to emulate White House with new petitions site

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang recently launched public consultations on an upcoming online petition website similar to the White House's successful We the People platform.

Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio "Sonny" Coloma said Monday that netizens and the general public may soon raise issues and appeal to President Benigno Aquino III using the petitions platform roughly based on the White House model.

"[Ang consultation period ay] para makalap lahat ng mga suhestyon na manggagaling sa ating mamamayan kung paano ang pinakamainam na sistema o proseso hinggil dito," Coloma said in an interview with dzMM.

The consultations found on this link will conclude on November 15, he said.

Coloma vowed that the petitions which will gather a significant number of signatures on the website will reach Aquino.

The Palace's Official Gazette announced that the petitions platform  is currently in its initial stages of development, with design and features being discussed internally.

"We are particularly watching out for suggestions regarding the maximum length of a petition (petitions that are too long might take too long to study, and process), and the minimum number of signatories before an official response is warranted," the Gazette noted.

It also cited the Section 4 of the Constitution stating Filipinos' right to "petition the government for redress of grievances."

United States State Department official Macon Phillips, among those who led the We the People project, said in a recent meeting with online media in Manila that President Barack Obama issues a statement on petitions that meet the signature threshold.

"When people care about an issue, it's impossible to ignore it," Phillips said.