People's initiative forms with over 30,000 signatures submitted to Comelec in Mandaue

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Mandaue City has confirmed receiving forms bearing at least 30,000 signatures from the 27 barangays of the lone district of the city in connection with a people's initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution.

Atty. Anna Fleur Gujilde, Mandaue City Election Officer, said the number of signatures already met the 7,000 required in the legislative district based on its number of voters.

Under the 1987 Constitution, petitioners in a people's need to gather signatures of at least 12% of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at last three percent of its registered voters. 

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said that the Comelec in Mandaue 

City would have to determine if the required number of signatures had been met. 

"'The submission [at the] local Comelec [of] signature pages is not yet for purposes of verification but for issuance of certification as to the number of signatures received by that office," Garcia said.

"These certifications will form part of the petition to be filed in in Comelec main (office) for the purpose of determining sufficiency in form and substance. Afterwards, that is the only time the Comelec en banc will order the verification of signatures," he added.

The people's initiative being pushed by some groups seeks to amend Article 17, Section 1 of the Constitution to allow members of the Senate and the House of Representatives to vote jointly. 

Senators have opposed the move.

Noel Oñate, lead convenor of People's Initiative for Reform Modernization and Action (PIRMA) told GMA Integrated News that once the required number of signatures had been gathered, the petitioners may already submit the signature forms to Comelec in their localities.  —NB, GMA Integrated News