‘Initiative’ petition filed today

Multisectoral organization Sigaw ng Bayan, the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) and the Advocacy Commission (ad-com) will file a petition before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) today to amend the 1987 Constitution through a people’s initiative, which it said would end 60 years of "failed bicameral presidential government."

The petition, which took six months to complete, seeks to install a parliamentary system of government with a unicameral assembly that would put the Philippines in the league of parliamentary governments around the world.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said President Arroyo has been pushing for Charter change (Cha-cha) from the start and would want it to happen during her term.

"Let the process continue and in the end it will be the people who will decide," he said.

Presidential Political Adviser Gabriel Claudio said the public could expect the administration to push Cha-cha, especially now that the impeachment process in Congress has ended.

Under the proposed new political structure, Mrs. Arroyo will continue to serve as head of state until 2010 when her term ends, but a prime minister will run the day-to-day affairs of government. Members of Congress whose terms are not expiring will serve in the interim parliament until the election of regular members.

The main petitioners are lawyer Raul Lambino, spokesman for Sigaw ng Bayan, Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado, president of the 1.7-million strong ULAP and ad-com chairman Lito Monico Lorenzana.

The three organizations helped raise people’s awareness and support for Charter change, which rose by almost 50 percent in the last public opinion survey.

For the first time, there are more people in favor of amending the Constitution than those who said they are opposed to any Charter amendment.

The shift to a parliamentary system and a unicameral assembly, the petitioners said, will consolidate the legislative and executive branches of government into a unified political branch of government called the parliament.

The petition also provides transitory provisions to facilitate the orderly transition to the new form of government.

Lambino clarified that the shift from the presidential system to a parliamentary system calls for an amendment of a portion of the constitution and not total revision of the Charter. The petition also only calls for changes to the form of the legislative and executive branches of government and does not change any other portion of the Constitution.

The shift is expected to dramatically improve efficiency and transparency in governance and introduce the necessary reforms to propel the Philippines into the 21st century global economy.

The petitioners said they are hopeful that the Comelec would set a national referendum in the next 60-90 days to ratify or reject the proposed constitutional amendment.

Business leaders belonging to the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FCCCI), Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), and the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, said they are convinced the shift to parliamentary system will lead to political stability and increased foreign capital inflow.

Opponents of the Cha-cha initiative, however, are gearing up for a legal battle to block the effort to amend the constitution.

One Voice, a citizen’s movement against Cha-cha, yesterday announced plans to file before the Supreme Court a legal suit to stop the Comelec from entertaining the petition of Cha-cha advocates.

At a press conference, One Voice members claimed that the petition was "bogus" since the people’s signatures were illegally gathered.

One Voice member Robert Cadiz also cited the absence of an enabling law that would allow the conduct of a people’s initiative to amend the Charter.

"The Comelec should uphold the law and existing jurisprudence by junking the initiative once it is filed by Sigaw ng Bayan," Ateneo de Manila professor Benjie Tolosa said.

He also called on the people to be vigilant and scrutinize how the Comelec would act on the petition.

Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms executive director Ramon Casiple said he is confident the Comelec would abide by the law and junk the petition. — Cecille Suerte Felipe, Aurea Calica, Jose Rodel Clapano, Mayen Jaymalin