Speed of Cha-cha signatures betrays 'fake' people's initiative campaign, lawmaker says

MANILA, Philippines — A Makabayan bloc lawmaker on Thursday voiced concerns at the rapid pace in which signatures have been collected in support of amending the 1987 Constitution, expressing suspicions about the level of coordination behind the “fake” people’s initiative.

“I think that the speed that these signatures are being gathered shows that there is indeed an organized effort with a lot of resources pushing for this fake people's initiative (PI),” Rep. France Castro (ACT Teachers) said in a message to Philstar.com.

This comes after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) bared on Wednesday that they have received signatures from at least 300 locations across cities and municipalities nationwide in support of a petition for Charter change.

During the first week of January, opposition lawmaker Rep. Edcel Lagman (Albay, 1st District) said he received reports that Albay mayors were instructed to collect signatures for a People’s Initiative drive in support of Charter amendments through joint voting. Lagman alleged that voters were being paid by local executives at least P100 for every signature.

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The petition specifically called for the House of Representatives and the Senate to vote on changes to the Constitution jointly, which means that the lower chamber would have the upper hand on which amendments to pass as they outnumber the 24-member Senate.

The Makabayan bloc has since called for a House probe of the alleged signature campaign, saying that it has received reports that people are being enticed to sign the petition using cash and financial aid under the government social protection programs as exchange.

Castro also pointed out that the recent submission of People’s Initiative signatures to the Comelec “also falls on the timeline for the PI that the Kabataan Partylist exposed.”

On January 12, Kabataan Partylist said they got a hold of an alleged timeline for the controversial People's Initiative for Charter change and alleged that those behind it were planning to "gift" the petition to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. before his third State of the Nation Address this year. 

Kabataan