ILOILO CITY - Various groups here yesterday launched their own signature campaign to oppose the move to amend the Constitution through a people's initiative.

The Ilonggos' Movement Against Arroyo's Charter Change (I-March) said it would bring their campaign to parishes and barangays against the administration-backed signature drive.

I-March is composed of lawyers, church leaders, town councilors, village officials and civil society groups. Among those that signed the one-page petition were former Iloilo Vice Gov. Ramon Duremdes, Bishop Gaspar Bañes of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, Msgr. Meliton Oso, executive director of the Jaro Archdiocesan social action center and leaders of the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Gabriela and the Promotion of Church People's Response. Duremdes, who teaches political law at the College of Law of the Central Philippine University here, said a people's initiative is not applicable for introducing constitutional change involving the form of government.

He said the people's initiative can only be used for amendments or changing specific or particular provisions of the Constitution.

"The main focus of the signature campaign is to change the form of government from presidential and bicameral to parliamentary and unicameral. These are not amendments but revisions because this involves fundamental changes requiring a revision or rewriting of the Constitution," said Duremdes.

The people's initiative seeks to gather enough at least 12 percent of the total number of registered voters and at least 3 percent of every congressional district's registered voters to call for a referendum on shifting the country's political system from presidential to parliamentary.

Duremdes said the signature drive is "questionable and a futile exercise."

He said the drive is also illegal citing the March 1997 ruling of the Supreme Court that Republic Act 6735 or the Initiative and Referendum Act of 1989 lacks an enabling law to support a people's initiative to amend the Charter.

"The (signature drive) is not only anomalous but a disgrace for the whole country," Duremdes said.

He said they will come out with a primer to be discussed in the barangays that would tackle factual and legal issues on the charter change.

"People are being made to sign the petition without them understanding the serious legal implications of what they are doing," said Duremdes.

In their one-page petition, I-March said the people's initiative is illegal and uses "deceit" to gather signatures.

It said the drive is part of a "desperate attempt (of President Macapagal-Arroyo) to maintain herself in power."

The group said the estimated P2 billion that would be spent on the signature campaign should be spent instead for social service.

I-March and Bayan led around 400 protesters yesterday in a rally at the grounds of the Iloilo provincial capitol against the charter change.*

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