House probe on alleged Cha-cha bribery sought

MANILA, Philippines — The Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives has filed a resolution seeking an investigation of reports that people were allegedly bribed into participating in a signature drive calling for a revision of the 1987 Constitution through a people’s initiative.

House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro of party-list ACT Teachers led the filing of House Resolution 1541 for the conduct of an inquiry, in aid of legislation, in the ongoing Charter change signature drive across the country.

“We have received numerous reports about this signature drive where people are told to sign a fake people’s initiative form for purposes of Charter change. We have this in Tarlac, Quezon City, Caloocan and even in Cavite, and these are only a few. There are more, actually,” Castro said.

“Many have been promised financial assistance, while some have been told they will receive gifts during the Christmas season (in 2023). We have also received reports that PWDs (persons with disabilities) were also duped into signing on to this Cha-cha,” she said.

Chairperson Emmi de Jesus of militant women’s group Gabriela, for her part, said that what the country needs is “an increase in our wages, not a change in Constitution” in light of “escalating prices and the diminishing real value of our salaries.” 

“It is a complete lie to claim that what we need to (do is) amend the Constitution to address the rampant poverty we face today, when what they really want to impose is term extension and lifting the limits for the ownership of foreigners in the Philippines,” de Jesus said.

“If the government is really keen on uplifting the lives of the people, then it must prioritize bills which will increase the workers’ salaries. Gabriela’s P750 wage increase bill is a concrete means to narrow the gap between the family living wage and the present meager wages,” she said.

Opposition Rep. Edcel Lagman, who was accused by Legazpi City Mayor Alfredo Garbin Jr. of flip-flopping on the voting issue of Charter change, insisted his legal stand stays that “joint voting” must be observed when senators and congressmen convene themselves into a constituent assembly. 

“I am not changing my position that there must be a joint voting because the members of the Congress are not acting as legislators, but as members of a constituent assembly where one member is entitled to one vote individually and not through their respective Houses,” Lagman said. 

“My position is now being echoed by those behind the present people’s initiative campaign to malevolently marginalize the senators in the Constituent Assembly because the Senate has consistently been the graveyard of proposed constitutional amendments in the past,” he added.

Garbin noted the Albay congressman’s change of tune. 

“In an apparent 180-degree turn, Manong Edcel is now saying that joint voting is not desirable because the House will ‘overwhelm’ the Senate by superiority in numbers. Why the sudden change of heart? Why is he now opposed to the joint voting of the House and the Senate?” he asked. 

“Whatever the reason is, the saying in Albay that being forgetful is a very strong Lagman trait looks to be justified,” Garbin, also a lawyer by profession who served as chairman of the House committee on constitutional amendments, said. 

The local chief executive cited the House’s transcript in January 2021 where Lagman referred to the long-established Supreme Court decision on the issue of joint or separate voting in the 1967 case of Gonzales vs. Comelec.

Comelec: Signatures may be nullified if…

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) may nullify the petition for a people’s initiative if it is proven that the signatures gathered for the campaign were in exchange for money. Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the signatures filed together with the petition may be used as evidence in a complaint that money was distributed to signatories.

“That can be used as evidence that A or B received money and the reason they signed (the petition); it’s enough to nullify any signatures that have evidence that money was accepted in exchange for signing the petition,” Garcia said in Filipino in a radio interview.

But he clarified that the distribution of money in the people’s initiative campaign could not be considered a form of vote-buying, because signatures are not votes.

However, Garcia stressed that it could affect the petition if proven that money was used in exchange to obtain the signatures.

According to him, the proponents of people’s initiative may face anti-graft and malversation charges if they used public funds.

“For our part, that is the reason why I can’t give a decision or say what Comelec’s action will be be[1]cause we need to wait for a (formal) complaint,” Garcia said.

Changes must benefit the people – Go

Sen. Bong Go said that if the 37-year-old Constitution is to be amended, it should be for the benefit of ordinary Filipinos, particularly the underprivileged, and not for politicians.

“If you remember, in the past years, whenever I was asked about that issue – this Charter change, people’s initiative, the Constitution will be moved – my answer was that our poor countrymen should benefit. It is not politicians who should ben[1]efit,” Go said in Filipino.“So if it’s the politicians who will benefit, I don’t agree with that,” said Go.

“That was my position before; until now it will not change.”

Human rights group sounds alarm

Human rights group Karapatan has raised concerns over the current attempt to amend the 1987 Philippine Constitution, asserting that it poses a severe threat to people’s rights.

The group claimed in a statement on Sunday that proponents aligned with President Marcos pushing for constitutional changes in the Philippines have turned to a “people’s initiative”

“The ‘people’s initiative,’ which has been tagged as ‘politicians’ initiative,’ is seen as a shortcut to Charter change, with people in poor communities being asked to sign blank sheets of paper in exchange for money,” they said.

“The ‘people’s initiative,’ which has been tagged as ‘politicians’ initiative,’ is seen as a shortcut to Charter change, with people in poor communities being asked to sign blank sheets of paper in exchange for money,” Karapatan said.

It added that it draws parallels to past irregularities during the martial rule of the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

The push for Cha-cha, Karapatan said, is accompanied by a narrative blaming the 1987 Constitution, which emerged from the EDSA people power uprising that ousted the elder

Marcos, for the country’s longstanding economic challenges.

However, the group argued that the Cha-cha process is tainted not only by its questionable methods but also by its core proposal of “economic Charter change.”

This change, it said, aims to re[1]move a provision prohibiting 100 percent foreign ownership of land, natural resources and businesses, ostensibly to attract more foreign direct investments (FDI).

The group pointed out that the move is seen as a direct violation of the fundamental rights of Filipinos to benefit from the nation’s resources.

Karapatan claimed that progressive economists dispute the belief that increased FDI and further economic liberalization will effectively address mass poverty, asserting that such measures only expose the domestic economy to exploitation.

“Allowing ‘economic Cha-cha’ will moreover open the floodgates for other self-serving ‘initiatives’ to extend the term limits of politicians, and prolong their stay in power,” the group said. — Mark Ernest Villeza, Mayen Jaymalin, Cecille Suerte Felipe