Comelec: Still no withdrawal of PI signatures

MANILA, Philippines — Even if the withdrawal forms are already out, the Commission on Elections has not received any filled-out form from those intending to withdraw their signature from the initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution.

“We have released (the forms) last week. But until now, no one has submitted a withdrawal form back to us,” Comelec Chairman George Garcia said in a radio interview yesterday.

Garcia clarified that those who want to withdraw their signature have the option not to cite the reason for their decision.

Withdrawal forms, he added, are available in all Comelec offices.

But election lawyer Romulo Macalintal said the withdrawal of signatures of those who claimed to have been deceived into signing for the people’s initiative is just a palliative measure and would not solve the problem.

“It may ease their fear as to the consequences of their signatures, but signing the withdrawal form does not actually solve the problem,” Macalintal said as he urged the Comelec to just return all those signature sheets to the initiative proponents who can properly identify the signatories.

“In other words, the problem is between the people who initiated such signature sheets and those people who claimed to have been tricked or hoodwinked into signing them and now want to withdraw their signatures,” he added.

Macalintal noted that the Comelec could only receive and file the withdrawal forms, “but cannot take any action at all” because it does not have the power to determine if the person withdrawing is the same one who signed on the signature sheets.