List of top online petitions in 2013 released

MANILA, Philippines - Petition website Change.org has released a list of the most popular online petitions in the country, or those which had the most “clicktastic” moments in 2013.

Clicktastic is “the distinct sound made by computer keys when Change.org users start or sign petitions that make great positive impact on their communities,” the petition site stated on its blog.

One of the petitions asked top pharmacy chain Mercury Drug to give back by donating medical supplies to the victims of Typhoon Pablo in Davao. More than 2,200 people supported the petition.

Change.org said Mercury Drug conducted “Oplan Lunas” in Cateel, Davao Oriental, where they treated hundreds of Typhoon Pablo survivors for free and distributed medicine and relief goods, in response to the request.

Also in the list was the call for administrators of the University of the Philippines (UP) in Manila to revoke the “no late payment” and “forced leave of absence” policies that allegedly resulted in the suicide of student Kristel Tejada.

The UP administration lifted the policies following the incident. It formalized the change when the Board of Regents amended the university code in December to remove the said policies.

Preserve heritage, culture

Number three in the list was the petition to preserve Philam Life Theater along United Nations Avenue in Manila, to which SM Development Corp. has relented.

Olivier Ochanine, chief conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, filed the petition after SM acquired the property. More than 10,800 people supported the petition to preserve the “most acoustically ‘sound’ performance venue” in the country.

The list also included a petition asking the Archdiocese of Lipa to save the 400-year old Balayan Church by stopping the lease of the structure to a national grocery chain. More than 6,000 people supported the petition.

“Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles has finally admitted that the Archdiocese’s financial administrator did consider a plan to lease the land on which the convent stands to a commercial establishment,” read the victory message posted on the petition page in November.

“He acknowledges that the plan was scrapped after it ‘triggered a barrage of angry responses’,” it added.

Another petition asked Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada to stop the construction of a 50-story condominium complex behind the statue of Jose Rizal in Luneta.

The Manila City council has passed a resolution temporarily suspending the building permit for DMCI’s Torre de Manila after tour guide Carlos Celdran, who also serves as Estrada’s tourism consultant, turned over to the council a copy of the petition with more than 7,700 signatures.

Environment petitions

There were also petitions seeking the protection of animals and the environment.

One asked the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development to stop the construction of a coal plant near a wildlife sanctuary, while another requested the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to release a sea turtle held captive in Turtle Island in Guimaras.

In August, the Palawan council decided not to endorse the clearance for the construction of the coal plant in the coastal barangay of Panacan across the Rasa Island Sanctuary that is home to the endangered Philippine cockatoo.

The DENR also released in September the said sea turtle, which was kept in the island and was used for photography with tourists.

Another petition of animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals asked Philippine Airlines to stop transporting monkeys to laboratories for experimentation.

Change.org said the airline company “no longer transport monkeys destined for experimentation.”