Determined to press amendments to the 1987 Constitution, Oriental Negros and Dumaguete City officials will meet today in Manila to discuss the pushing of the people's initiative as a way of amending the charter, in view of the absence of an enabling law that backs it.

Oriental Negros Gov. George Arnaiz disclosed that one of the things expected to be discussed in the meeting is the lobbying in the Senate for the passage of an enabling law that supports the people's initiative.

"We feel that it would be easier to have the Senate pass a law on people's initiative than for them to support the amendment of the Constitution through the Constituent Assembly," Arnaiz, a close ally of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, said.

He said the senators do not have any reason not to support a legislative measure on people's initiative since it is mandated by the Constitution.

"We will lobby also. Those senators who will not support the enabling law cannot surely win in the 2007 election if all governors will unite against them," he said. "We will castigate them in the election," Arnaiz added.

He also said that even now they can lobby in the Senate for support of the ConAss, but the local officials, forego the idea in order to avoid a gridlock between the Senate and the House of Representatives.

"But since we want a parliamentary form of government, we tried to find a way and we believe people's initiative is the answer," Arnaiz said.

Earlier, Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone, spokesperson of the Union of Local Authorities had said that local officials are planning to spearhead a people's initiative, apparently because of the seeming impossibility of amending the constitution by simply convening both houses into a constituent assembly, in view of the strong opposition from the upper house.

A people's initiative is one of the constitutionally approved methods in amending the Constitution through a petition directly proposed by at least 12 percent of the total registered voters, with every legislative district to be represented by at least three percent of its registered voters.*RA

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