CA denies IBP petition to stop Cha-Cha sorties

The Court of Appeals 19th Division has denied the application for temporary restraining order and/or writ for preliminary injunction filed by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Cebu City and Cebu Province chapters against the People's Initiative for Charter Change.

In that petition, both chapters asked the appellate court to order the Department of Interior and Local Government to refrain from collecting any more signatures that will support this initiative and to direct the Commission on Elections from verifying the gathered signatures.

Named respondents in this suit were the Comelec-7 director, the Comelec provincial supervisor, Comelec Cebu City officers, the DILG-7 director and both the provincial and the city Interior and Local Government officers.

But even if the CA 19th Division has denied, as ordered by Associate Justice Apolinario Bruselas Jr. and concurred by Associate Justices Isaias Dicdican and Agustin Dizon, the application of the TRO and/or the Writ of Preliminary Injunction the appellate court has given 10 days, from receipt of this resolution promulgated last June 9, to file their comment "further stating the reasons why the petition should not be given due course."

The Regional Trial Court late last month dismissed the same suit filed by the Movement for Concerned Citizens for Civil Liberties against the same officials, as well as Comelec Commissioner Resurreccion Borra.

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

They 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 personnel of the DILG who went from house to house to collect signatures in the barangays.

Forms were being distributed to residents in the barangays seeking their signatures if they approve of an amendment to the Constitution that changes the form of government from bicameral-presidential to unicameral-parliamentary. - Liv G. Campo