Imee slams P14.2 billion Comelec budget for plebiscites

MANILA, Philippines —  Sen. Imee Marcos has flagged the P14.2-billion budget in the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) allotted for the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to conduct plebiscites at a time when a people’s initiative for Charter change is underway.

In a Teleradyo Serbisyo interview yesterday, the senator and sister of President Marcos said that she only knew of Comelec’s request for funding to increase their personnel’s pay and to find better offices for field officers.

The executive’s proposed budget for the “conduct and (to) supervise elections, referenda, recall votes and plebiscites” was actually at around P2.2 billion, but this went up to P14.2 billion in the final version of the GAA after the budget went through the bicameral conference committee, Marcos said.

She warned that the budget is prone to abuse by the politicking of Charter change proponents, amid allegations that voters were bribed with P100 to sign the petition seeking to amend the charter and allow Congress to vote jointly instead of separately in a constituent assembly.

“That P14 billion could have been used for rice and gas subsidies, or for our problems in the health and medical sector. Why spend all the money and energy on power play?” said Marcos, chairperson of the Senate electoral reforms committee.

Marcos has filed a resolution seeking to investigate the alleged Charter change bribery involving P20 million from welfare funds for each congressional district that would be able to muster the numbers for people’s initiative.

Sixteen senators including Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri met on Wednesday to discuss the implications of allowing the House of Representatives to overwhelm the voting power of the Senate in any Charter change initiative, Marcos said. She said she was unable to attend because she was abroad.

Zubiri did not respond to reporters’ questions about the meeting.

“To all the voters, be warned. Let us not be ‘bobotante.’ Let us not allow our Constitution – the soul and heart of the nation – to be up for sale,” Marcos said.

A people’s initiative is one of the ways to amend the Constitution, where proponents must obtain signatures of three percent of the voters per legislative district and 12 percent of voters nationwide.

For his part, Sen. Robinhood Padilla called on the public to support people’s initiative.

The Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes chairman has been pushing for Charter change in the chamber through a constituent assembly.

“The time is ripe to amend the 1987 Constitution – including through a people’s initiative – so long as this is truly from the people,” Padilla said.

“People’s initiative: vox populi, vox Dei. People’s initiative: the voice of the people is the voice of God. We must discuss people’s initiative thoroughly. Such a power of the people should not be twisted by some politicians to suit their ambitions,” said Padilla.

“Only the people can bring about true changes in the system, for the betterment of our country. Let us give our support to the people’s initiative,” he added. “Now is the time to resolve the remaining question in our Constitution regarding amendments to the Charter. Only the people can decide.”

8 million signatures

Those behind efforts to amend the 1987 Constitution through people’s initiative are aiming to gather at least eight million signatures by June.

In a radio interview, People’s Initiative for Reform, Modernization and Action (PIRMA) national lead convenor Noel Oñate confirmed that his group is behind the signature campaign in various areas nationwide.

“We have a signature campaign. It is already ongoing all over the country,” Oñate said.

PIRMA was also behind a previous signature drive in the ’90s during the administration of the late president Fidel Ramos.

“Many already signed for people’s initiative as under the law, we need at least 12 percent of the total number of voters. At present, we have 67 million total numbers of voters, so 12 percent of 67 million is roughly eight million plus (voters) and then we need at least three percent each for all the districts,” he explained.

“We will submit (the signatures) before the Comelec with the hope that the plebiscite will be done together with the 2025 elections, that’s our target, to submit to the Comelec for verification of signatures together with our petition,” he noted.

Form and substance

A people’s initiative to amend the Constitution requires more than just the needed number of signatures to succeed, according to the Comelec.

“Petitioners must satisfy what we call sufficient in form and substance in accordance with the Comelec resolution, so whoever are the proponents must look at what is there (in the resolution),” Comelec Chairman George Garcia said in a radio interview yesterday.

“We will be strict in looking if there is sufficient form and substance and if the petition complies with the regulations,” he added.

Garcia said the Supreme Court has also ruled that those who affixed their signatures shall be main petitioners and not just supporting petitioners.

When the petition is formally filed, Garcia said the Comelec will first determine whether it is sufficient in form and substance. After the declaration of sufficiency in form and substance, the Comelec will verify the signatures and compare those with its computerized voters’ list.

He said the Comelec will also look into reports that voters are being paid to sign the petition. He stressed that voters must sign voluntarily and not be bribed, threatened, or duped to do so.

Garcia said the local Comelec will verify each signature after the petition is formally filed, and afterwards will issue certification whether the necessary signatures were obtained or not. – Mayen Jaymalin, Bella Cariaso, Delon Porcalla, Evelyn Macairan, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Emmanuel Tupas