Orders probe on signature-buying
FACED with allegations from Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday belied that the P12 billion additional budget given to the agency under the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) is solely meant to fund the House of Representatives’ Charter change (Cha-cha) initiatives.
In an interview, Comelec chairman George Garcia said there is no truth to Lagman’s claim that the P12 billion added by lawmakers to the poll body’s budget during the bicameral discussions on the 2024 national budget was allocated to ensure that any move to change the 1987 Constitution will have the necessary budget.
Garcia said: “When it was allocated to us, there is no issue on the people’s initiative yet. It was given to us because we were asking them (Congress) to return the P17.4 billion that were taken away.”
“It is very presumptuous at this point (that it will be used for Cha-cha). To us, what is important is that our budget has been returned,” he added.
The poll chief said the P12 billion has a line item for recall, initiative, referendum, and other electoral activities.
However, he also admitted that the said allocation can be utilized for the proposed PI to amend the Constitution.
“We have to admit that it can be used for that (PI) since the item is for recall, initiatives, referendum, and other elections,” Garcia said, adding: “We can utilize that budget since we have that discretion being a constitutional body.”
“We can actually tap that as we were given a wide discretion on that item,” he said.
Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma yesterday scored allegations that the emergency employment program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is now being used in the ongoing efforts to gather support for Cha-Cha initiatives.
In a television interview, Laguesma said it is unacceptable that the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced workers (TUPAD) is allegedly being used as an incentive to local government units (LGUs) that can help deliver the required number of signatures for the planned PI.
“TUPAD cannot be used as an incentive, as alleged, for those who will give their signatures. It is saddening to the point of angering because TUPAD is a nice program with a goal to help legitimate beneficiaries, and not to serve as an incentive for a program that is political in character,” said Laguesma as he
urged the public not to fall for such bogus claims using the name of the DOLE program.
“If there is anyone making such offer in exchange of their signatures, that would be erroneous,” said Laguesma.
TUPAD is a community-based assistance program that provides emergency employment for displaced workers, underemployed, and seasonal workers. The emergency work will run for 10 days to 30 days and will pay workers in accordance with the existing minimum wage rate in the region.
Likewise, the Department of Health (DOH) belied reports that its medical assistance program is being used to gather support for Cha-cha.
In a statement, the DOH said only the medical and social welfare evaluation of prospective beneficiaries are used to determine beneficiaries of the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) program.
“The only consideration of the DOH for the distribution of medical assistance for indigent and financially incapacitated patients are their circumstances as evaluated by a licensed social worker at a hospital or health facility,” said the DOH.
“The only information/reports we receive are about the proper utilization of DOH MAIFIP, based on the evaluation of a licensed social worker at health facilities nationwide,” it added.
Under DOH Administrative Order 2023-0016, the MAIFIP is intended to provide financial aid to indigent Filipinos needing medical assistance in hospitals and health facilities as assessed by licensed social workers.
For 2023, the DOH said the MAIFIP has been availed in 81 DOH hospitals, 550 local government hospitals, 511 private hospitals, and 20 treatment and rehabilitation centers nationwide.
Earlier, Sen. Imee Marcos claimed that government aid programs, including DOLE’s TUPAD and the DOH’s MAIFIP are being used by those behind the PI drive for Cha-cha.
SIGNATURE FOR A FEE
Garcia advised proponents of the people’s initiative to amend the Charter to adhere to the guidelines provided under Comelec Resolution No. 10650, which provides the complete guidelines on how to utilize the PI method.
“Make sure what you are doing is compliant. That means you should comply with our resolution,” he said, adding: “You could be doing it wrongly. The guidelines are in our resolution as well as the requirements we will be needing once it is filed with us.”
He also reminded Cha-cha proponents to make sure that they are transparent when asking people sign the initiative.
This is amid allegations that some local government officials are asking residents to sign the PI petition in exchange for payment of P100.
“Do not buy those signatures. The signatures must be given voluntarily and that those signing it fully understand what they are signing for,” he said.
“These signatories must really be in support of what they are signing for,” added Garcia.
Sen. Robin Padilla said any PI to push for Charter amendments must “truly come from the people.”
“People’s initiative: the voice of the people is the voice of God. We must discuss people’s initiative thoroughly. Such a power of the people should not be twisted by some politicians to suit their ambitions. Only the people can bring about true changes in the system, for the betterment of our country. Let us give our support to the people’s initiative,” said Padilla, who chairs the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes.
Padilla said it is also timely to resolve whether the Senate and the House of Representatives should vote separately or jointly, saying 24 senators would be rendered irrelevant by the 300-plus House members in a joint voting.
“Now is the time to resolve the remaining question in our Constitution regarding amendments to the Charter. Only the people can decide,” he said.
Padilla has been pushing for Cha-cha to amend what he called the restrictive economic provisions, but his colleagues in the Senate are cold to the proposal.
TELEVISION AD
Former Senate President Vicente Sotto III yesterday took exception to a paid television advertisement aired Tuesday night pushing for Charter revisions supposedly because promises made during the EDSA People Power did not come true.
In a Viber message to the media, Sotto said the “EDSA Pwera” paid TV ad is “untruthful and inaccurate.”
“The problem is not the Constitution but some of the people executing it,” Sotto said, as he stressed that the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), which he chairs, is not behind that paid advertisement.
Sotto said he met with party leaders on Tuesday night, and they assured him that they are “not endorsing anything.”
He said any NPC member who supports Cha-cha through a people’s initiative are doing so in their personal capacity and is not sanctioned by the party.
“As chairman of NPC, I can officially state that the party is not behind the so-called PI (people’s initiative),” he said.
Lagman, in a press statement, slammed the EDSA Pwera television campaign, saying it “is part of the Marcos family’s continuing demonization of the EDSA People’s Power Revolution which ousted the Marcos dictatorship and helped install the ‘Cory Constitution’ or the present 1987 Philippine Constitution.”
“The ad is crudely crafted and there is nothing substantial conveyed in the message,” said the senior lawmaker.
Rep. France Castro (PL, ACT) said the militant Makabayan bloc is now mulling the possibility of filing a resolution to investigate the funding used for the pro-Charter change TV ad.
“Were the funds used for this ad from public coffers or money from foreign interests trying to change our Constitution so that they can own most of our country,” she said.
“Using EDSA Pwera as a catch phrase, the paid ad also misleads viewers by saying that it was farmers, students and local business men who were the ones disadvantaged by the 1987 Constitution but what the voice over and the placards are saying is that more foreigners should wholly own land, businesses and even schools in our country,” said the House deputy minority leader.
DAVAO CITY
Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte on Tuesday night slammed the Charter change campaign while revealing that the congressional allocation of his district was slashed by as much as P2 billion under the P5.768 trillion national budget for 2024.
“Hindi ako luluhod sa inyo para mabigyan ng proyekto lalo na at may 30 percent pang kinukuha ang isang pekeng panginoon. Again,ang kawawa ay ang mahal kong mga Dabawenyo (I will not kneel before you for projects, especially since the phony lord takes a 30 percent cut. Again, the ones suffering are my beloved Davaoeños),” he said in a social media post.
Rep. Duterte did not identify the “phony lord” he was referring to in his post but said the first district of Davao City only has a P500 million allocation for 2024.
“To all congressmen ganging up on us, do not give me that kind of BS because I will not starve to death if you take my budget away. Ang kawawa is yung mga Dabawenyos na bumoto kay PBBM (The ones suffering are the Davaoeños who voted for President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.),” he said.
The eldest child of former President Rodrigo Duterte said he has “kept his silence all through these months since I do not want my constituents to suffer from the dirty politics in the House of Representatives.”
The former president has been at loggerheads with the House leadership after lawmakers stripped his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, of confidential funds under the 2024 national budget.
Rep. Duterte assailed the House leadership’s campaign for a people’s initiative to amend the Constitution, the same campaign that was pushed under his father’s administration to pave the way for a shift to federalism.
“I am against this people’s initiative as this is not the people’s voice but the voice of a few who wanted to perpetuate themselves in power,” he said. “To all Dabawenyos, do not sell your soul for a mere P100 or 10,000 in exchange for your signature. If you want to follow the minions of the person dreaming to be great in Congress to perdition that is your choice.”
Rep. Duterte said he was informed that Rep. Margarita Nograles (PL, PBA) is spearheading the people’s initiative campaign in Davao City, but Nograles said she is presently in the United States where she met with US law enforcement and Filipino-American advocacy groups to discuss possible areas of cooperation in the fight against child pornography and livelihood generation for women in the Davao region.
Nograles, who left for the US last December 29, ignored Rep. Duterte’s allegation.
POLITICIAL SQUABBLE
Rep. Zaldy Co (PL, Ako Bicol), chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, continued to scoff at Lagman for his allegations that the people’s support for Cha-cha is being bought by its leading advocates.
In a radio interview with fellow lawmaker, Rep. Erwin Tulfo (PL, ACT-CIS), who hosts a program on Radyo Pilipinas, Co said Lagman is always “first in line” when it comes to the distribution of congressional allocations every budget season at the House.
“Actually Cong, every budget hearing lagi po ‘yang nauunang nakapila itong si Cong. Edcel Lagman. Hindi po napapabayaan sa kanyang distrito. Magandang-maganda ang development sa kanyang distrito and nabibigyan ho siya kaya hindi ko talaga malaman (Actually Cong, every budget hearing, Cong. Edcel Lagman is always first in line. His district is not neglected. The development of his district is very good, and he is given allocations, so I don’t really understand why he made such allegations),” Co told Tulfo.
Co said there are speculations that Lagman, a former chair of the appropriations panel, himself, is threatened by his fellow Ako Bicol party-list lawmaker, Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon, thinking that he may eventually run against Lagman in his district.
“Medyo nai-insecure po si Cong. Edcel Lagman kay medyo pinipersonal niya po ito ngayon dahil ang tingin niya makakalaban niya si Cong. Jil Bongalon sa first district of Albay. So kaya po si Lagman sa tingin ko ay kaya nagkakaganyan pero lagi po siyang may insertion (Cong. Edcel Lagman is feeling insecure that’s why he is taking it personally because he believes he will be pitted against Cong. Jill Bongalon in the first district of Albay. That, I believe, is the reason why Lagman is acting this way, but he always has a congressional insertion),” he said.
Last Saturday, Lagman said congressmen from the supermajority coalition have already launched a campaign for Charter change via people’s initiative after municipal mayors in Albay were notified of a general meeting last Friday by the League of Mayors of the province with an undisclosed agenda.
During the meeting, he said 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 per centum of the registered voters of the legislative district to which their municipalities belong.
Lagman said former Ako Bicol party-List Rep. Alfredo Garbin is expected to deny that the various municipal mayors present during the meeting at the Ellis Hotel in Legazpi City received from Ako Bicol coordinators half of the total amount of the P100 per voter payoff, which constitutes three percent of the total voters per municipality compromising their legislative districts.
He said then that Bongalon was also present at the Ellis Hotel which, Lagman said is “reputedly” owned by Co.
SIGNATURE CAMPAIGN
Garbin said Albay mayors have already begun soliciting signatures from residents for the people’s initiative campaign, just two days after the January 5 meeting.
“Nag-iikot ‘yung mga mayors natin including their volunteers, even NGOs (Our mayors are going around, including their volunteers, even NGOs) and local leaders are moving on a signature campaign in support of this people’s initiative,” he told CNN.
Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga urged senators to heed the clamor of the business sector for economic and investment reforms in the Constitution to create more job and income opportunities for the people.
He made the appeal in reaction to the report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) that the number of jobless Filipinos fell to 1.83 million in November from 2.09 million in October.
“This means that there were an additional 260,000 of our labor force who got themselves employed in jobs created in the economy through investments. We could create more job and income opportunities for our people if we could attract more investments, especially funds from foreign investors,” Gonzales said.
He said attracting more foreign investors is the goal of the House of Representatives in pushing for amending the economic provisions of the Constitution, which restrict the flow of foreign capital into the country.
PROHIBITED
Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said officials and employees of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) are prohibited from engaging or being involved in the gathering of signatures and other activities to amend the 1987 Constitution.
Abalos said career officials and employees are likewise covered by the prohibition.
“As far as the DILG is concerned, we are prohibited from doing it. We could probably see and monitor, since this is a valid exercise of individuals’ right,” Abalos told reporters in a chance interview at the main office of the Metropolitan Manila Development Office in Pasig City where he attended a meeting on the housing and relocation of informal settler families in the metropolis.
“Pero kung sa iba, if you’re voted upon, it’s your right,” he added when asked if elected officials can take part in the exercise.
Pressed as to whether barangay officials can also get involved in the initiative to amend the Charter, Abalos just said, “let us see.” — With Raymond Africa, Wendell Vigilia and Ashzel Hachero
