ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'The time is ripe': Padilla backs People's Initiative for Cha-cha

'The time is ripe': Padilla backs People's Initiative for Cha-cha

Published Jan 10, 2024 05:55 am

Sen. Robinhood Padilla believes that the "time is ripe" to amend the 1987 Constitution including through a people's initiative "so long as this is truly from the people."

"Peoples initiative: Vox populi, vox Dei. Ang boses ng taongbayan ay boses ng Dios... Pag-usapan nang matino ang peoples initiative. Huwag gawing isyu ng politiko at ambisyon ang nag iisang kapangyarihan ng taongbayan (People's initiative: the voice of the people is the voice of God. We must discuss people's initiative thoroughly. Such a power of the people should not be twisted by some politicians to suit their ambitions)," Padilla, who chairs the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes said in a statement Wednesday, Jan. 10.

"Taumbayan lamang ang makapagdadala ng tunay na pagbabago ng sistema tungo sa ikauunlad ng Bayan. Ibigay natin ang ating suporta sa people's initiative (Only the people can bring about true changes in the system, for the betterment of our country. Let us give our support to the people's initiative)," he added.

He stressed this as he reiterated his warning against some politicians twisting the will of the people to suit their ambitions.

Padilla noted that even before people's initiative, some politicians had already "raised a howl" about the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) and Tulong Panghanapbuhay para sa Ating Displaced/Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD).

He added what should be resolved is whether the Senate and House should vote separately or jointly, as 24 senators would be rendered irrelevant by 300-plus House members in a joint vote.

"Ito na ang panahon para maresolba ang naiwang tanong sa ating Saligang Batas patungkol sa pag-amyenda o rebisyon ng ating Constitution. Tanging taongbayan na lamang ang maaring magdesisyon (Now is the time to resolve the remaining question in our Constitution regarding amendments to the Charter. Only the people can decide)," he said.

Last year, Padilla filed a resolution proposing changes to the constitutional terms of elected officials including the President, Vice President, and lawmakers.

In filing Resolution of Both Houses of Congress No. 5, Padilla proposed amendments to Sec. 4 and 7 of Art. VI (Legislative Department); Sec. 4 of Art. VII (Executive Department); and Sec. 8 of Art. X (Local Government).

Padilla cited the need to ensure a balance between leadership stability and democratic continuity.

People's Initiative

Under Republic Act No. 6735, or The Initiative and Referendum Act, it defines "initiative" as the power of the people to propose amendments to the Constitution or to propose and enact legislations through an election called for the purpose.

It also states that the power of initiative and referendum may be exercised by all registered voters of the country, autonomous regions, provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays.

Under this law, to exercise the power of initiative or referendum, at least ten per centum (10 percent) of the total number of the registered voters, of which every legislative district is represented by at least three per centum (3 percent) of the registered voters thereof, shall sign a petition for the purpose and register the same with the Commission.

Related Tags

People's Initiative Charter change Constitutional amendments Senator Robin Padilla
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.