The Philippine Commission on Elections (Comelec) has announced on Monday an “indefinite” suspension of the acceptance of signature sheets related to the People’s Initiative (PI) for amending the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
At least 7 million signatures have been gathered by a private advocacy group calling for major changes in the country's Charter, according to local media reports.
The Philippine Senate has assailed the move as a "fake people's initiative". They allege widespread signature-for-sale and deceptive methods.
In the latest twist to the unfolding saga, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia explained the decision aims to review the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) governing the PI process.
The Commission’s “en banc” (case was heard before all members of the commission, rather than by a smaller panel) decision will help avoid potential problems and misunderstandings, Garcia said.
The showdown between the Senate and the House emerged in recent weeks. It's unclear if it would go away anytime soon. Here’s the lowdown on moves to amend the Philippines’ 37-year-old charter, which was ratified in a plebiscite in 1987:
How many PI signatures were received?
The Comelec said that in the widespread and extensive PI signature drive, it had already received signature sheets from 209 legislative districts – representing approximately 7 million signatures, out of a total of 254 districts.
Why did the Comelec stop accepting the signature sheets?
Comelec Chair Garcia told local media on Monday (January 29) that the decision was to pave the way for a “review” of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), in order to avoid problems, “chaos and misunderstandings” in the interpretation of rules.
“We will suspend all processes, even the local Comelec's acceptance of signature sheet,” he told a press conference at the poll body’s central office in Intramuros, Manila.
“Based on our assessment, we need to review, enhance and amend our IRR regarding the People's Initiative. In our opinion, there are things that are missing and not in our guidelines,” he added in Filipino language.
Garcia said the review of the rules will be headed by the executive director and law department director.
“At the same time, we are going to consult with everybody concerning the rules. The rules need to be clear,” he said.
What’s the stand of the Senate and the House of Representatives on the People’s Initiative?
The two legislative chambers of Philippine Congress are at loggerheads over the method of introducing changes to Constitution. The Senate supports narrow economic changes on the Charter.
The Senate is spearheading for a “Resolution of Both Houses, which the House also supports. On Monday, House party affirmed their declaration of support for Senate Charter reform resolution, and vowed to adopt it "quickly".
A parallel drive, known as a People’s Initiative (PI) being pushed by private individuals and groups that have long sought for Charter change, is perceived to have strong backing from the Congressmen.
This represents a big unknown in the chessboard between the two powerful chambers, with an end-game veiled in mystery.
What did the senators say about the People’s Initiative?
All 24 senators previously disapproved of the PI, citing concerns about certain “illegal” activities. They call it a "fake" peoples initiative.
Both Senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Maria Imelda “Imee” Marcos allege the PI is being pushed by members of the House of Representatives.
Senate President Miguel Zubiri, for his part, said: “We believe that any legitimate people’s initiative must be genuinely led by the people. The Senate still maintains that this people’s initiative, in its current form and how the signatures are being collected, is flawed and unconstitutional.”
Other Senators – including Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, Senator Grace Poe, Nancy Binay, and JV Ejercity – lauded the Comelec’s January 29 decision, and expressed relief that the focus can now shift to urgent national needs.
Last week, all 24 senators signed a manifesto expressing their disapproval of the PI which allegedly involves bribery and other illegal activities.
On Friday (January 26, 2024), Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri warned that a “constitutional crisis” could happen as a result of the PI.
It’s a veiled attack on the House of Representatives, the body seen as responsible for collecting the signatures under the PI.
What's the difference between the Philippine Senate and the House of Representatives?
The Senate is composed of 24 Senators elected at large (nationwide); the House of Representatives is composed representatives from each congressional district of the country.
In the last elections, there were 316 seats in the House of Representatives; 253 of these are district representatives, and 63 are party-list representatives. Philippine law mandates that there should be one party-list representative for every four district representatives.
The two chambers must harmonise any law they craft separately or jointly, including the annual national budget, before they can be enacted into law following the president's signature.
What is a 'constitutional crisis'?
A constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve.
Constitutions primarily aim to confine disputes within the realm of ordinary politics, preventing them from escalating into anarchy, violence, or civil war. The fundamental role of the Constitution is to maintain peace and confine political disagreements within the political arena.
Type 2: The Constitution fails when political actors cannot prevent an impending defiance of the Constitution.
Type 3: Widespread non-compliance occurs, leading to riots, secession of states, military disobedience, and more. Type 3 crises involve publicly expressed disagreements over the Constitution, prompting extraordinary forms of protest beyond legal and political disputes, such as street protests, military mobilisation, and the use or threat of brute force to assert dominance.
What is the House’s stand on PI?
Speaker Romualdez responded on Friday to Zubiri’s earlier flagging of a potential constitutional crisis as “very toxic rhetoric”.
In a press conference Friday, Romualdez urged the Senate to focus on its perceived failure to pass priority legislations of the Marcos administration rather than criticizing the House of Representatives.
As for the postponement of the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting, Romualdez stated, "Finish your job first. Filipinos are waiting. (Kadugay) You’re slow”.
Senator Imee Marcos, Romualdez's cousin and elder sister of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, has accused the Romualdez of contradicting wishes of the president, and backing the PI.
House Speaker Romualdez is the nephew of former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos and former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
Earlier, Romualdez had conveyed the House’s commitment to endorse Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 (RBH 6), initiated by Zubiri. The resolution aims to establish a subcommittee within the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments to deliberate on amending three economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.
Both Zubiri and Romualdez were engaged in discussions with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., resulting in an agreement for the Senate's approval of RBH 6, followed by its adoption in the House of Representatives.
Romualdez's letter affirms his full support for an “alternative people's initiative”.
Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda said it’s not true the the House of Representatives are pushing for PI. Salceda noted that among the petitioners and signatories are credible individuals and long-time Charter change (Cha-cha) advocates. He cited that the People’s Initiative for Reform Modernization and Action (Pirma) have long advocated for changes in the 1987 Constitution.
“Allow me to emphasize this. So far, the arguments of opponents have centered on who is backing the people’s initiative. Credible lawyers and economists, backed by long-time advocates for Charter change, are named as petitioners,” Salceda said in a statement after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) stopped all proceedings related to the PI.
“But this does not satisfy opponents who insinuate that members of the House are behind the proposal,” he added.
Other House members also criticised Zubiri's warning of a constitutional crisis regarding amendments to the 1987 Constitution, with one labeling it an unjustified “doomsday prediction”.
House Majority Leader and Zamboanga City Rep. Manuel Jose Dalipe expressed disappointment, stating: “It is disheartening to see Senate President Zubiri jump to the conclusion of a constitutional crisis instead of embracing the spirit of collaboration put forth by Speaker Romualdez…We need dialogue, not doomsday predictions,” Dalipe told the Manila-based Inquirer.
House Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. said Zubiri’s remarks simply escalate tensions regarding an already controversial matter.
What happens to the signature sheets already submitted?
Comelec Chair Garcia said signature sheets received by city and municipal election officers will stay with the Comelec.
“If the proponents think they should be withdrawn first and they should keep it, that's okay. That will be included in our instruction. We will gladly give them back,” he said.
What happens next?
In the midst of bickerin and exchange of tiades, it's unclear at this point.
The Comelec, a constitutional body, may take its own sweet time in making a final decision on the People's Initiative campaign. It has said 7 million signature were already gathered in signatures from 209 legislative districts so far, out of the 254 districts. The Senate's Resolution of Both Houses also has a strong backing.
11.4 million
number of signatures needed (12% of 91.9 million registered voters) for a "People's Initiatve" on Constitutional amendements to move forwardIt appears, though, that as a society, Filipinos no longer consider it a taboo to talk about possible amendments to the highest law of the land, especially to soften the protectionist provisions that have a direct bearing on the economy, jobs and the country's global competitiveness.
Even those who crafted the Charter admit it's not a perfect document. However, any tweaks lifting term limits on president and vice president specifically provided for by the 1987 Constitution could trigger many unknowns.
Another sore point of the Constitution, in its current form: the presidential and unitary set-up itself.
For a huge country like the Philippines (7 times bigger than the land area of the Netherlands) to keep a unitary and presidential setup, where all economic policies are run from and centred on traffic-clogged Manila, harnessing the economic potential of the peripheries is invariably seen, at the very least, as a threat to capital's prestige and power.
The Initiative and Referendum Act, Republic Act 6735, outlines the specific process for this constitutional provision.
In May, the Comelec has tallied almost 92 million registered voters for the 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
The exact figure is 91,912,429 registered voters recorded in 201,799 clustered precincts and 37,524 voting centres, according to the Comelec. Meaning: in order for a PI to move forward, it would need at least 11.4 million signatures.
At the very most, a regionalised (state-specific) economic policy-making is deemed secessionist, instead of being seen as a development booster through inter-regional "co-opetition".
In the era of Tiktok, this self-imposed limitation borne our of the federalism-will-fragment-the-country fear that gripped the venerable crafters of the 1987 Charter has, in many ways, chained the country's economy.
President Marcos Jr, the current chief executive, is a known advocate of a federal-parliamentary set-up. Former President Rodrigo Duterte won by a landslide in 2016 on a campaign promise of pushing for a federal-parliamentary system and solving drugs in "3 to 6 months", none of which happened.
This key point, the switch to federal-parliamentary form, is muted in the current debate. Yet more of the same, under the current Charter, presents a conundrum, if not a sentence, of a lifetime.
And things are bound to be muddled before they get clearer.
Still, the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) offers hope, and perhaps a template for some kind of arrangement for the other regions being turned into competitive states.
