By Junex Doronio
MANILA — Claiming without presenting evidence, Liberal Party (LP) president and Albay Representative Edcel Lagman on Sunday bared that a campaign for charter change (Cha-Cha) had begun with mayors supposedly asked to give P100 to every constituent who would sign a petition to change the 1987 Constitution via people’s initiative.
Lagman said mayors from his Albay province were summoned to a meeting on January 5 and were given sheets of paper that they were to have their constituents sign.
However, he stopped short of identifying who was behind the alleged campaign.
“During the meeting, they were informed that people’s initiative will be used as a mode of amending the Constitution and they were given mobilization funds and the forms to be signed by at least three percent of the registered voters of the legislative district to which their municipalities belong,” the opposition lawmaker said in a statement.
Lagman further claimed that the campaign “is nationwide as congressmen belonging to various political parties have been sent the necessary forms.”
“Voters who would sign the petition for people’s initiative will be given P100 each, 50 percent of which has already been advanced to the municipal mayors and respective coordinators,” he revealed.
The document being circulated showed that the ” people’s initiative” (PI) intends to make the Senate and the House vote jointly, instead of separately, when deciding on any amendment to or revision of the 1987 Constitution.
Political observers told Maharlika NuMedia that if the House and the Senate vote together on constitutional amendments, the 24 senators would easily be outnumbered by the congressmen.
For her part, House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro of the ACT Teachers Party-list strongly opposed Cha-Cha via PI, saying the country has to attend to more pressing issues.
“Hindi Cha-cha ang pangunahing pinoproblema ng mamamayan kundi ang taas ng presyo ng mga bilihin, lalo na ng bigas,” the national democrat lawmaker said in a statement.
(el Amigo/MNM)
