Court junks case barring Comelec from verifying Cha-cha signatures

Owing to technicality, the court junked the case filed by the Movement for Concerned Citizens for Civil Liberties supposedly to restrain the Commission on Election from verifying signatures for the people's initiative for Charter change.

In his decision, Judge Gilbert Moises said that the petition violated the rule that a petition "(1) must be verified, (2) must contain certified copies of relevant documents and (3) must contain a sworn certification of non-forum shopping."

Moises said that although a verification and certification "appears in page 21 thereof," such was not under oath.

"This is not the verification contemplated under the rules which provides in Section 4 thereof that a pleading is verified by an affidavit that the affiant has read the pleading and that the allegations therein are true and correct of his personal knowledge or based on authentic records," Moises said.

Citing jurisprudence, Moises further said that the documents attached to the petition were not certified true and correct but mere photocopies, making the petition vulnerable to dismissal.

Both Comelec offices in the city have finished their verification last month. Barely 11 days since the start of verification, they already reached the three percent target that would make the two legislative districts counted for the people's initiative. The verified signatures were already forwarded to the Comelec's provincial office.

In the north legislative district, the Comelec verified 29,177 signatures. Of this number, 9,731 appeared to be similar; 3,360 appeared different; 12,716 from those who did not have records; 3,346 from unregistered voters; and 35 from voters who had more than one signature.

In the south legislative district, the Comelec verified 27,878 signatures with 10,943 appearing to be similar; 5,168 appearing different; and 11,767 from those who did not have records and/or from unregistered voters.

The MCCCL had questioned the propriety of using government agencies, and therefore government funds, in pursuing the initiative.

The suit also argued that the Comelec has not even acquired jurisdiction over the initiative because no formal petition has been filed before it.

Since February this year, the people's initiative involved the Department of Interior and Local Government personnel who went from house to house in the barangays to collect signatures that would support Charter change. - Joeberth M. Ocao