A partylist congressman yesterday warned that the Commission on Elections will face a deluge of suits for its validation of the signatures of registered voters supporting the people's initiative for charter change, which starts in Negros Occidental today.

Partido ng Manggagawa Rep. Renato Magtubo, who spoke at a labor forum in Bacolod City Saturday, told the DAILY STAR there is no enabling law that would allow government to entertain a people's initiative on charter change.

But Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos said the poll body is not violating anything since it is merely verifying signatures, it has not taken cognizance of the petition for Charter change yet.

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan is also waging a signature campaign against charter change.

Magtubo said the country is not faced with a people's initiative, it is a Gloria Macapagal Arroyo-Jose de Venecia initiative to allow the president to stay in power until 2010 and for the house speaker to be the first interim prime minister.

It will not be a charter change for the better, but a charter change for the worse, he said.

He said the Partido ng Manggagawa will conduct an information drive to make the public aware of the dangers of charter change now so that they will know how to vote should the Arroyo administration succeed in holding a plebiscite on the matter.

COMELEC Commissioner Resurreccion Borra who has ordered election officers throughout the country to begin verification of signatures, yesterday told the DAILY STAR no deadline has been set for it to be completed.

Bacolod Comelec registrar Mavil Majarucon yesterday said no signatures had been submitted yet to her office for verification.

She said that, on Thursday, a DILG representative went to her office to inquire about the requirements for the submission of the signatures but had not returned.

Earlier Bacolod DILG head Ireneo Asuga had gone to her office to ask for a copy of the Bacolod list of voters and she had asked the DILG to shoulder the costs of the copying since the Comelec did not have a budget for it, she said. But he did not return as he apparently had gotten a copy elsewhere, she added.

Provincial COMELEC supervisor Daisy Real said verification of signatures in Negros Occidental will start today.

She said signatures have already been submitted for verification in Escalante, Calatrava, Pulupandan and La Carlota.

Rodolfo Alvarez, Negrenses United Against Constituent Assembly, yesterday said they are also opposed to Charter change through a people's initiative because the people have not been properly informed about it.

What we will get is a government similar to the Batasang Pambansa of Ferdinand Marcos with more control granted to those at the helm of government, which could be dangerous, he said.*CPG

back to top