Senate people’s initiative probe open to Speaker, House members

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate begins this week its probe into alleged “signature buying” for a people’s initiative to amend the Constitution, which Sen. Imee Marcos said congressmen could attend.

Marcos issued an open invitation to the public hearing of the Senate committee on electoral reforms on Tuesday on her resolution to look into the signature drive, allegedly initiated by the leadership of the House of Representatives.

“Yes, that’s right… if there’s something you (House members) can do to defend yourself, you must come because of what you said. It was insulting and confrontational. It’s better that we have a calmer discussion,” Marcos said in an interview over dzBB.

She clarified that she was not provoking any quarrel, but insults had been made.

Speaker Martin Romualdez had sent a letter to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri urging the Senate to roll out its own process of Charter change. 

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva earlier said Romualdez’s letter is an insult since it contained the phrase “Congress acting as one body.”

“This signals a strong sense of unity and purpose. The Congress of the Philippines, now acting as one body, will eventually fulfill the call for a reformed, responsive, and result-oriented constitutional framework,”Romualdez had written.

While she considered inter-parliamentary courtesy between the Senate and the House, Marcos asked how can courtesy be a factor when the House is pushing to abolish the Senate, but insisting that Congress will vote as one and jointly, diminishing the upper house with 24 senator-members, compared with the lower chamber with 316 congressional members.

“It seems funny, there are only 24 of us (in the Senate), we will be drowned by more than 300 of their votes and we will have no say. It’s not like that,” she said in an earlier interview.

“In our Constitution, it is clear that it is bicameral, so the senators must also be listened to,” Marcos remarked.

Days before the Senate probe, Marcos said she had been receiving information about the alleged bribery to gather signatures for the initiative.

The senator, however, admitted that witnesses are hesitant to surface during the hearing as their budget for projects might be affected.

“This is our problem. While we have received several text messages, the problem is that (people from) DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), barangay, and SK (Sangguniang Kabataan) officials are nervous (to surface), because their projects might be affected,” she noted.

Marcos said that she would find a way to ensure the protection of witnesses.

“This is why I try to find a way to protect them (witnesses), and at the same time gather evidence,” said Marcos, who noted that someone who would file a case against the people’s initiative with the Supreme Court would need witnesses.

Marcos said she had high hopes that the numerous media reports and stories about the people’s initiative would encourage witnesses to come forward.

“We are sure that money was given (during the signature drive), but the problem is who ordered it?” she said.

Under the 1987 Constitution, Charter change can be made through constitutional convention, constituent assembly and people’s initiative.

While expressing the Senate’s openness to revising the economic provisions in the 37-year-old Charter, Marcos stressed the importance of ensuring that the process adhere to proper channels, urging transparency and cautioning against misleading the public.

“The senators are not against changing the economic provision. We said, that’s right, that’s overdue. We are also not against people’s initiative in the right way. But don’t deceive people about aid, above all don’t (dangle) money for the signature. That’s not right,” Marcos stressed.

Romualdez maintained that the House of Representatives has zero participation in gathering signatures to push for Charter change.

Cha-cha motive caught on video – Escudero

Romualdez’s announcement of his plans that the House will pursue the people’s initiative was captured on video, Sen. Chiz Escudero said.

Escudero said Romualdez cannot feign ignorance about the lower chamber-led signature drive to amend the Constitution, as he offered a video of the House leader who announced plans to pursue the people’s initiative to change the Constitution.

The senator said in that video taken on Dec. 11, 2023, during an event called the Philippine Economic Briefing in the province of Iloilo, Romualdez proudly announced that the recommended means to change the 37-year-old Constitution was through people’s initiative.

“We are thinking right now of addressing the procedural gap or question as to how we amend the Constitution. We will highly recommend that we embark on a people’s initiative to cure this impasse, so to speak, on how we vote. And I hope we can undertake this as soon as possible, so we can have some clarity on the procedures,” Romualdez said in the 45-second clip.

“So, we would like to amend the Constitution, vis-à-vis, how we procedurally amend the same. And that’s either we vote jointly or separately, we would like to have the result by and through people’s initiative,” Romualdez added.

With the recorded video, Escudero said: “This is clearly a politiko’s (politician’s) initiative.”

“How can Speaker Romualdez deny he is not behind this ‘fake initiative’ when he bragged about it last December and took credit for it?” Escudero posted on his Twitter account, where he also shared the video of the Speaker.

“History has taught us that nothing good comes out from anything that begins with a lie,” Escudero added.

Negative economic consequences

The “fake” people’s initiative to amend the Charter carries negative implications for the economy, said Sen. Nancy Binay as she reaffirmed the Senate’s commitment to economic growth and stability.

Contrary to any misconceptions, Binay said the Senate has consistently demonstrated a “pro-development” and “pro-progress” stance, evident in the passage of critical economic reforms such as the Public Service Act (PSA), Foreign Investments Act (FIA) and the Retail Trade Liberation Act.

She emphasized that these groundbreaking economic measures are clear indicators of the Senate’s dedication to streamlining processes and enhancing the country’s economic trajectory.

?“Just to be clear, the Senate is pro-development and pro-progress – that’s why we passed vital economic reforms like PSA, FIA, and the Retail Trade Liberation Act, to accelerate the growth of our economy,” Binay said in a statement.

The senator clarified that blame should not be directed at the Senate, emphasizing it was not responsible for the “fake” people’s initiative to amend the Charter, which carries negative implications for the economy.

“The departure of the fake people’s initiative did not come from the Senate,” Binay said. “Everyone knows where it started, built and laid down. The people behind the people’s initiative should know that such covert Cha-cha (Charter change) actions have a negative and direct impact on our economy, but they still continued.”

Despite these challenges, Binay asserted that the Senate remains steadfast in its commitment to addressing economic issues with prudence and foresight.

“Investors value stability, and we are dedicated to addressing this matter with the seriousness it deserves. Rest assured, the Senate’s commitment to economic growth and foreign investment remains unwavering,” Binay stressed.

Meanwhile, Sen. Grace Poe called on the public to reject the people’s initiative, and said, “What the Filipinos urgently need are food on the table, jobs, health care, education, and quality life.”

“With this fake initiative, other people are putting politics before the problems of the people,” Poe said. “There is only one solution: stop this fake initiative. We, in the Senate, are ready to work and focus on the things that matter – and we hope the House is ready to set aside this PI and do the same.”

The senator also pointed out that various surveys revealed that Charter change is not among the priorities of Filipinos.

An OCTA survey in December 2023 revealed that only one in 100 Filipinos saw Charter change as an urgent national concern.