Senate says ‘people’s initiative’ exploits democratic process

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate on Tuesday issued a manifesto condemning the “people’s initiative” to amend provisions of the 1987 Constitution, which they said will undermine the power of the Senate. 

The people’s initiative, according to the manifesto signed by the 24 senators, seeks to allow all members of Congress — the Senate and the House of Representatives (HoR) — to jointly vote on the proposed amendments in a constitutional assembly.

“If this people initiative prospers, further changes to the Constitution can be done with or without the Senate's approval, or worse, even absent all the Senators," the manifesto said, which was read by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri during Tuesday’s Senate session.

“While it seems simple, the goal is apparent — to make it easier to revise the Constitution by eliminating the Senate from the equation," the manifesto read. 

Should the desired amendment prosper, the 24 members of the Senate “cannot cast a meaningful vote” against the 316 members of the HoR, according to the Senate manifesto. 

The Senate also said that an “innocuous” change in the Constitution would “open the floodgates” to amendments and revisions that would “erode the nation.”

“To allow joint voting will destroy the delicate balance on which our hard-won democracy rests. It will destabilize the principle of bicameralism and our system of checks and balances,” the manifesto read. 

Changing the amendment, according to the lawmakers, will leave them “powerless” to block proposals on giving land ownership to foreigners; removal of term limits for elected government officials and a possible no-election scenario in the following years.

"Today, the Senate once again stands as a bastion of democracy, as it rejects this brazen attempt to violate the Constitution, the country, and our people,” the lawmakers said.

The 1987 Constitution, which was ratified a year after the ouster of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., gave legislative power to both the Senate and the HoR, and trimmed the term limits of the members of Congress. 

In a separate statement, Sen. Robinhood Padilla, an avid advocate of Charter change (Cha-Cha), said that he only supports