Bongbong asked to put an end to people's initiative for Cha-cha

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. was asked on Thursday to put an end to the ongoing people's initiative (PI) for Charter change (Cha-cha).

"Well, I've said it time and again to stand firm and put an end to this PI that they started...Perhaps, he can make a very firm and clear cut stand, put an end to the PI and let's do this properly together and there will be no controversy," Senator Imee Marcos said in an ANC interview.

She noted her brother's latest remarks on the ongoing PI, which seeks to revise the 1987 Constitution and allow Congress to jointly vote on the future amendments to the Charter.

"Until now, he says that we need to study it and consult legal luminaries, the [Commission on Elections] on its own has also said that the signatures are still alive, there's no deadline, there's no expiry date, they can be reused and recycled for future effort. Naku 'wag naman isantabi na 'yan (let's not take that for granted). It's illegally and unconstitutionally obtained. 'Wag tayo papayag (let's not allow that)," she said.

Last Tuesday, President Marcos expressed doubts that people's initiative is "one of the options that remains for us."

Senator Marcos, in the same television interview, said that she will not allow his brother's administration to ruin the Marcos name.

"Let us not forget, I am the daughter of Ferdinand Edralin Marcos [Sr.]. I am his firstborn and I will never never allow the Marcos administration to be used to once again besmirch his name and ruin his legacy," she said.

She also reiterated that there is no law that provides a clear system for people's initiative, adding that this is not the top concern of the nation at this moment.

Senator Marcos led the Senate investigation into the alleged use of government financial assistance programs and bribery in the ongoing people's initiative efforts.

Several senators condemned this, believing that this would dilute the power of the Senate to amend the Charter, and called on those individuals behind the initiative to stop it.

Some senators, including Marcos, pointed to her cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez, as the person behind the people's initiative efforts.

During the Senate probe last Tuesday, the lead convenor of People’s Initiative for Modernization and Reform Action (PIRMA), the group behind the ongoing initiative, admitted that they had coordinated with Romualdez to gather the signatures required to revise the constitution.

Romualdez, for his part, had denied involvement in unlawful activities such as vote-buying in relation to the people’s initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution.

However, he confirmed that he has met with PIRMA lead convenor Noel Oñate in his townhouse but only in the role of a facilitator.

While Senator Marcos and Romualdez had exchanged strong statements against each other, the President's sister said the issue on people's initiative is "no mere family squabble."

"Kung sino man ang nagsimula niyan, kamag-anak ko man o hindi, talagang tututulan ko (whoever is behind this, whether a relative of mine or not, I will still oppose it)," she said. —KBK, GMA Integrated News