Referendum proponents advised: Do it soonest

CEBU, Philippines - If proponents of a People’s Initiative against the pork barrel want the move to work, they must begin the process the soonest possible time.

This was the advice of election supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano as he underscored the length of time needed to verify the signatures of those who will participate in the signature campaign.

This, not to mention, the very limited number of personnel of the Commission on Elections here, Castillano said.

He also said that records of the Comelec are still being used in the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal  for election protests.

“We need those records to verify those signatures,” Castillano said, adding that Comelec-Cebu can only retrieve the records if HRET allows it.

Last Sunday, in a pastoral letter, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma called on the public to make a stand against the pork barrel and take part in the National People’s Congress on August 23, 2014 during which a draft law that aims to scrap the pork barrel system will be presented.

The people’s initiative is a mechanism provided in the 1987 Constitution. Republic Act 6735 (The Initiative and Referendum Act) that allows registered voters to directly propose a bill, a form of public empowerment when elected lawmakers would not author or sponsor a proposal.

The law requires at least 10 percent of the total number of registered voters nationwide, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three per centum of the registered voters.

Castillano said the petition would then be submitted to the Comelec central office for verification. The Comelec will set the referendum after complying with the publication requirement.

Apart from lack of personnel, Castillano also said that Comelec also has its calendar full for poll-related activities such as the registration of voters for the 2016 elections. Comelec is also preparing for the Sangguniang Kabataan elections set initially in February next year.

“I hope nga himuon ni sa proponents mapaspas nila, basin unya maabtan mi sa panahon nga maapikihan mi sa prepraration sa elections sa 2016. Naa na man gud tay time table sa among preparation. Among giapas pod karon katong walay biometrics,” Castillano added.  (FREEMAN)