Public officials and individuals behind the “fake” People’s Initiative (PI) should face accountability even after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) suspended the signature campaign, Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said.
"Kahit po suspendido ng Comelec ang pagtanggap ng mga pirma, kailangan pa rin nating bigyang linaw kung paano at sino ang mga nanloko sa ating mga kababayan para makakalap ng pirma para sa Politician’s Initiative (Even if the Comelec has suspended accepting signatures, we still need to clarify and identify who are these individuals who deceived our people just to gather signatures for this ‘politician’s initiative’)” Dela Rosa said during the Senate Electoral Reform and People's Participation Committee's investigation into the alleged bribery and payoffs in exchange of Filipinos' signature for Charter change.
“Papanagutin natin ang mga mapagsamantala at manloloko (We will hold the exploiters and fraudsters accountable),” he said.
Dela Rosa said activities where government funds are used by politicians to deceive Filipinos and advance their personal agenda should stop.
“These kind of incidents where our people are being pushed to the extreme should not be repeated. They are forcing our people, especially the poor to sell their dignity in exchange for a meager amount of money,” he lamented.
“What is even more heartbreaking are the reports that the government's own money was used to carry out this dark plan,” added the senator.
“For self-seeking individuals to capitalize on poverty, using it to their advantage, advancing their ambition. We simply cannot let this slide," Dela Rosa stressed.
At the same time, Dela Rosa urged Filipinos who signed the petition for this "politician's initiative" to retract their signatures.
“Let's not let the treacherous and malicious people succeed who want to steal the future of our people,” he said.
The Senate electoral panel, chaired by Sen. Imee Marcos, on Tuesday, January 30, conducted its initial investigation into the alleged bribery attempts to railroad the 1987 Constitution through a PI signature campaign.
The PI campaign seeks to amend Article 17, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution to allow members of the House of Representatives and the Senate to vote jointly in a constituent assembly, a matter which the Senate opposes.
Senators earlier pointed out that such mode of amending the Constitution will erode the checks and balances in the bicameral system of the Legislative Department.
Sen. Grace Poe, for her part, stressed that such attempts to change the Charter through the People’s Initiative was flawed from the start.
“It is inherently wrong. Maling-mali ang sinasabi sa tinatawag nilang People's Initiative (PI) kasi method na ang pinag-uusapan, voting jointly, imbes na yung mga probisyon na kailangang palitan (What they say about what they call the PI is wrong because they are talking about the method, voting jointly, instead of the provisions that need to be changed,” Poe pointed out.
“If the intention of the movers of PI was on the economic amendments, then the specific provisions should have been spelled out in the petition,” she stressed.
Poe said she is not totally opposing Charter change but stressed that it should be done for the welfare of the Filipinos.