‘Why buy people’s will on Cha-cha?

ALBAY Rep. Edcel Lagman yesterday said administration lawmakers allegedly “buying” signatures for the people’s initiative petition to amend the Constitution have violated the Omnibus Election Code.

“If the campaign for people’s initiative to amend the Constitution is inspired by noble and patriotic motives, then why buy the people’s will?” Lagman asked in a statement.

The opposition lawmaker particularly cited Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code in relation to Section 19 of the Initiative and Referendum Act or Republic Act No. 6735, which states that: “Any person who gives, offers or promises money or anything of value; gives or promises any office or employment, franchise or grant, public or private, or makes or offers to make an expenditure, directly or indirectly, or cause an expenditure to be made to any person, association, corporation, entity, or community in order to induce anyone or the public in general, to vote for or against any candidate or withhold his vote in the election, or to vote for or against any aspirant for the nomination or choice of a candidate in a convention or similar selection process of a political party.”

He said the same provision also covers “any person, association, corporation, group or community who solicits or receives, directly or indirectly, any expenditure or promise of any office or employment, public or private, for any of the foregoing considerations.”

Last Saturday, Lagman said congressmen from the supermajority coalition have already launched a campaign for Charter change via a people’s initiative and bared that municipal mayors in Albay were notified of a general meeting last Friday by the League of Mayors of the province with an undisclosed agenda.

During the meeting, he said the attendees were supposedly informed that people’s initiative will be used as a mode of amending the Constitution and they were given mobilization funds and forms to be signed by at least three percent of registered voters of the legislative district to which their municipalities belong.

Lagman claimed that voters who would sign the petition will be given P100 each, “50 percent of which has already been advanced to the municipal mayors