‘Signature sheets can’t be basis for people’s initiative’

MANILA, Philippines — Proponents of Charter change through people’s initiative are wasting time and paper in their signature campaign, election lawyer Romulo Macalintal said yesterday as he urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to stop receiving signature forms as these “have no evidentiary value” anyway.

“It is just a waste of time and paper because these signature sheets have no evidentiary value or cannot be the basis of an initiative. It gives a wrong impression to the people that an initiative to amend the Charter has already been properly or validly initiated,” Macalintal said.

He stressed that signatures for people’s initiative cannot be submitted ahead of the filing of a petition for a people’s initiative.

But Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said the processes being carried out by local poll offices are in compliance with Comelec Resolution No. 10650.

Based on the resolution, Laudiangco said the submission of signature pages as well as their certification could be considered part of what he called initiatory phases of a petition for a people’s initiative.

The signature pages, he said, shall be submitted as an integral part of the petition if and when it is filed.

Macalintal noted that Comelec Chairman George Garcia has already admitted that no petition has yet been filed on the matter, meaning the Comelec has no jurisdiction at this time over any move for Charter change via people’s initiative.

“With Chairman Garcia’s admission that no petition has yet been filed with the poll body, it is as clear as sunlight that there is no legal basis for anyone to submit the signature sheets to the Comelec,” Macalintal pointed out.

Without a formal petition, Macalintal said, it is still premature to submit those signature sheets to the Comelec, which has no valid reason to receive them.

Macalintal said the sheets containing the alleged signatures of voters cannot be the basis to start a valid initiative, considering that there is no existing petition yet to be read and understood by those who gave their signatures.

He said the Comelec cannot even start verifying the signatures because the verification fees required under Comelec Resolution No. 10650 have