Garcia: Comelec can’t hold Cha-cha plebiscite in late 2024, 2025

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) cannot hold any charter change-related plebiscite in 2025 and even in late November or December of 2024, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said Tuesday.

The Comelec chairman thus said at the Senate electoral reform and people’s participation inquiry into the alleged payoffs in the latest push for people’s initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution.

“We cannot conduct any plebiscite in 2025. That's a no-no, that's a negative. We cannot conduct a plebiscite even by November of this year to December of this year. Napakaliit na po ng space na ginagalawan po ng Commission on Elections,” Garcia said during the hearing.

A national plebiscite would require a rigorous procurement process which can only be done if the Comelec verify all the signatures submitted to the commission, Garcia explained.

Apart from this, Garcia said the poll body needs to prepare for the elections that will be held in 2025. 

“Mahabang proseso pa po ‘yun. And that process, in accordance with our rules, will take several months… Come to think of it, ‘yung pwede lang po kami mag-conduct ng plebisito sa kasalukuyan ay October of this year. But however, October po, filing na po tayo ng certificates of candidacy,” he said.

“Therefore, nakakasabay po ‘yung mga trabahong ginagawa ng COMELEC, more particularly, Your Honors, yung registration of voters natin, which we have to start by February 12 up to September 30 of this year,” he added.

On Monday, the Comelec suspended all the proceedings related to the people’s initiative seeking to amend the 1987 Constitution.

Garcia previously said that the Comelec en banc unanimously voted for the suspension of Comelec Resolution No. 10650 which covers the guidelines for the people’s initiative.

The “indefinite” suspension includes the acceptance of signature sheets by the local Comelec offices pending the review and revision of the said guidelines.

The Comelec decision came after Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III earlier announced the possible filing of a petition questioning the poll body’s authority to receive the signature sheets from the ongoing campaign for people’s initiative.

In the signature pages that were submitted to Comelec, the voters were asked if they were in favor of amending Article 17, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution by allowing all members of Congress to jointly vote on proposed constitutional amendments in a constituent assembly.

Pimentel pointed out that no law authorizes Comelec to do such “ministerial duty.”

In the same Senate hearing, two retired Supreme Court justices upheld the high court’s decision on Lambino v. Comelec in 2006, which ruled that Republic Act 6735, a 1989 law that provided for a system of initiative and referendum, is inadequate. —NB, GMA Integrated News