Senators lash ‘Pekeng Initiative’; Salceda defends Romualdez’s speech

Senators over the weekend condemned what they call a "false" people's initiative (PI) to amend the Constitution, with Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero pointing out a speech Speaker Martin Romualdez made last month.

In a statement, Escudero said Romualdez called for a PI during his speech at the Philippine Economic Briefing in Iloilo in December.

Posting a 45-second clip of the Speaker's speech, Escudero called the campaign for Charter change (Cha-cha) a "pekeng initiative" and a “Politiko’s Initiative.”

“How can Speaker Romualdez deny he is not behind this ‘pekeng initiative’ when he bragged about it last December and took credit for it? History has taught us that nothing good comes out from anything that begins with a lie,” Escudero said in a tweet.

“We are thinking right now of addressing the procedural gap or question as to how we amend the Constitution. We will highly recommend that we embark on a people’s initiative to cure this impasse, so to speak, on how we vote,” Romualdez had said in his speech.

In a separate statement on Sunday, Senator Grace Poe also called the campaign a “Pekeng Initiative” and called the public to reject the campaign.

She added that Cha-cha is not among the Filipino public's priorities and that the Senate should direct more focus to food, jobs, healthcare, education, and quality of life.

“Bakit sinasabi namin na Pekeng Initiative ito na itinutulak ng mga politiko? Tingnan natin ang mga survey. Sabi ng isang survey regarding the issues that concern our people, 1% lang po ng ating kababayan ay nagsabi na concerned sila sa Cha-cha… Malinaw po na wala sa isip ng tao ang Cha-cha, yet eto ang mga kasama natin sa House, sinasabi nila na nakuha na raw ang 12% na signatures na kailangan para matuloy na itong petition para sa PI. Napakalayo naman po ng 1% sa 12%; paano ba nakuha ito? Dagdag bawas?" she said.

"Isa lang naman ang solusyon dyan: tigilan nyo na itong pekeng initiative. We, in the Senate, are ready to work and focus on the things that matter––and we hope the House is ready to set aside this PI and do the same," she added.

In her own statement, Senator Nancy Binay said the upper chamber remains committed to addressing economic issues, and that it will not allow individual interests to prevail.

“Hindi po nanggaling sa Senado ang paglarga ng pekeng people’s initiative… Alam naman po ng lahat kung saan ito nagsimula, binuo at inilatag,” she said.

Last week all 24 senators released a manifesto condemning the signature campaign, calling it a "sinister and underhanded attempt to change the Constitution by exploiting our democratic process under the guise of a people's initiative."

Congressmen respond

In a statement, Albay Representative Joey Salceda defended Romualdez's speech, saying that the Speaker only expressed support for a PI.

"It is crucial to understand that this support does not equate to direct participation or control by the House in the People's Initiative process," he said.

“The House recognizes the People's Initiative as a fundamental democratic process that is explicitly citizen-driven and enshrined in the Philippine Constitution. It is a mechanism that allows Filipinos themselves to directly propose amendments to the constitution, independent of congressional action,” Salceda added.

“The People's Initiative is a process for the people, by the people. It embodies the sovereign will of the Filipino citizens, offering a direct avenue for them to express their desires and aspirations for constitutional reform. The House of Representatives respects this process and believes in the capacity of the Filipino people to decide the best course for the nation's constitutional future.”

Surigao Del Norte 2nd District Representative Robert Ace Barbers also rejected allegations from the Senate that the PI intends to make it “easier to revise the Constitution by eliminating the Senate from the equation.”

He claimed that the senators' manifesto demonizes PI supporters, and that the Constitution "repeatedly states vote by 'all' members of Congress without distinction between Senate and House of Representative in proposing charter amendment."

“It is thus a matter of differing opinion on the matter which has been lingering for several decades and for the past several administrations. The Senate should also respect with dignity the proponents of opposite interpretation, and not demonizing them to a level that is tantamount to hindering democratic freedom of expression,” Barbers said. 

He added that the outcome of the PI would be the “voice of the Filipino people who will finally decide in the plebiscite” and that it was a way to exercise the right of the Filipinos to amend the constitution.

“Some Senators feign support for Cha-Cha but exploit every opportunity to halt it. They don’t want to carry it out via ConCon, via ConAss and now with the People’s Initiative. And everybody can clearly see what this means. They don’t want to get out of their 'comfort zones.' This has been their modus operandi since 1987,” Barbers said.

“The real reason [in opposing Charter change] is to perpetuate a Constitution that favors only the oligarchs, and most importantly for the senators, one that grants them undue political longevity,” he claimed.

The signature drive calling for a people's initiative has been linked to bribery allegations.

Despite the division over the PI among political leaders, offices of the Commission on Elections have begun to collect and count submitted signature forms for the PI. — BM, GMA Integrated News