The Commission on Elections yesterday began verification of signatures of voters supporting a people's initiative for Charter change in some areas in Western Visayas, Elections Regional Director Dennis Ausan said.

Ausan said all election officers must proceed immediately with the validation of signatures submitted to their offices for a people's initiative as soon as they receive them.

He said the signatures submitted should be accompanied by an official request for verification with the name of the person spearheading the move.

That is in compliance with the order of COMELEC Commissioner Resurreccion Borra, he said, stressing that no guidelines for the Comelec are needed to proceed since the procedure is similar to what is done in verifying signatures in recall proceedings.

Ausan said he had received reports of seven areas in the region where verification had started yesterday afternoon but was awaiting detailed reports from the field.

Meanwhile, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan will hold its own signature campaign at the grassroots level to counter the "bogus and illegal" Malacañang signature campaign for charter change, Bayan Negros secretary general Felipe Levy Gelle Jr. reiterated yesterday.

"Charter change is a ploy to perpetuate Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in power by setting aside the serious questions about her legitimacy and legalizing her term until 2010 and perhaps beyond," Gelle said.

Gelle said Bayan has received reports that from P50 to P200 was given to each barangay worker for every 10 signatures gathered for the Arroyo administration's campaign for charter change. He cited the Sigaw ng Bayan group as behind the campaign but, so far, no leader in Negros Occidental or Bacolod has surfaced.

Bayan will conduct an education campaign on who will benefit from the administration's move on Charter change and is studying the conduct of "operation bawi", for those who have been "deceived" by the Cha-cha signature campaign, Gelle said.

An informed and educated people will lead the movement to reject the Arroyo signature drive, he added.

GUIDELINES AWAITED

Meanwhile, COMELEC provincial supervisor Daisy Real of Negros Occidental yesterday said some election officers in the field were awaiting guidelines from their head office on how to proceed.

She said she was informed by the COMELEC Office of the Deputy Director for Operations that general guidelines would be released, and that elections officers who had received requests for verification should submit a report on the matter.

Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos told the DAILY STAR the Comelec officials can go ahead with the validation and guidelines are not necessary since the procedure is the same as when signatures are validated for a recall election.

Real said signatures of those supporting the people's initiative in Bacolod City have not been submitted yet.

Department of Interior and Local Government Bacolod head Ireneo Asuga yesterday denied that his office is behind the signature campaign in the city. He said he did not know who was behind it.

SIGNATURES SUBMITTED

But Real said signatures have been submitted to the COMELEC offices in Escalante, Calatrava, La Castellana, Isabela and Pulupandan for validation.

Pulupandan Comelec Registrar Tess Parroco said 4,535 signatures were submitted to her office for validation. The town has 16,200 voters.

Calatrava Comelec Registrar Agnes Roullo said signatures from 39 of the 40 barangays of Calatrava had been submitted to her office for validation but she could not say yet what the total number of all of them are. She said she has began verification proceedings.

BRING COMPLAINTS TO SC

Meanwhile, Malacañang is supporting the COMELEC challenge to critics of the people's initiative to bring their case to the Supreme Court, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said yesterday.

The high tribunal, being the final arbiter of laws, will be able to resolve the controversy over the people's initiative, he said.

Partido ng Bayan Rep. Renato Magtubo Sunday said the COMELEC will face a deluge of suits for allowing verification of signatures for a people's initiative that has no enabling law.

Abalos said the COMELEC was not violating any law since all it is doing is verifying signatures, which is within its mandate.

Abalos has dared groups opposed to the verification of signatures supporting a shift to a parliamentary form of government to seek an injunction from the Supreme Court.*CPG

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