By Junex Doronio
MANILA — It seems there’s no stopping for the momentum of the voters’ signatures favoring charter change (Cha-Cha) via People’s Initiative (PI) as of Wednesday (24 Jan 2024) two million signatures have been collected.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it will continue to accept signatures collected by the People’s Initiative for Modernization and Reform Action (PIRMA) despite opposition from some quarters led by the country’s Senators who declared their unanimous declaration against it by issuing an official manifesto on Tuesday (23 jan 2024).
“We apologize for those who call for the Comelec to stop accepting signatures, as we cannot do it. It is part of our duty as mandated not just in the law but also in the guidelines that the Comelec has promulgated in 2020. If they think that we are doing wrong, then they can question the guidelines”, Comelec chairman George Garcia said.
Since the required number to proceed with the filing of a petition is eight million signatures, or 12 percent of the total registered voters nationwide, and three percent of the registered voters per legislative district, with the two million already collected, only six million signatures are needed to have a plebiscite.
In the plebiscite, the voters will be asked if they agree that the Senate and the House of Representatives will vote jointly for amendments to the 1987 Constitution.
On Tuesday (January 23), all the 24 senators opposed a proposal for both chambers of Congress to vote jointly to change the 1987 Constitution.
The senators said they could not cast meaningful votes against more than 300 congressmen.
As of 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, the poll body said it has issued Election Officer (EO) Certifications to 187 out of 254 legislative districts and 1,010 cities and municipalities.
Garcia said they are still waiting for the remaining 67 legislative districts to submit their signature forms.
(el Amigo/MNM)
