Romualdez on people's initiative: House facilitates democratic process, not signature collection

Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Tuesday said the House of Representatives facilitates the democratic process of a people's initiative, but noted that this role excludes direct involvement in the signature collection.

In a press statement, Romualdez reiterated his denial that he had a hand in pushing for a people's initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution.

"I vehemently denounce any allegations of bribery or unethical practices in persuading citizens to sign the petition for the People's Initiative. Such actions, if true, would violate the initiative's spirit of honest and voluntary participation and erode our democratic foundations," Romualdez said.

"While the House respects and supports the People's Initiative as an independent, citizen-driven process, our role is to facilitate and encourage democratic participation without direct involvement in signature collection," he added.

However, Romualdez asserted that the lower chamber is committed to ensuring that proposals to amend the 1987 Constitution are "processed in accordance with legal and constitutional guidelines, maintaining the integrity of our Constitution in subsequent legislative actions."

"The House of Representatives stands committed to providing a transparent and accountable framework to support the People's Initiative, ensuring that it remains a true representation of the people's collective will. We are here to support and respect the outcomes of this process, affirming the People's Initiative as the purest form of democracy," he said.

The Speaker's statement came on the same day that the 24-member Senate released a manifesto condemning the ongoing people's initiative, which seeks to amend the 1987 Constitution by allowing all members of Congress to jointly vote on proposed constitutional amendments in a constituent assembly.

"This so-called 'people's' initiative (PI) proposes only one change: in acting as a constituent assembly, the Senate and the House shall vote jointly. While it seems simple, the goal is apparent to make it easier to revise the Constitution by eliminating the Senate from the equation. It is an obvious prelude to further amendments, revisions, or even an overhaul of our entire Constitution," the Senate manifesto read.

Earlier in the day, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) should be allowed to do its job regarding the people's initiative. — VDV, GMA Integrated News