Press Release
January 19, 2006
PIMENTEL WARNS PROPONENTS OF PEOPLES INITIATIVE TO AMEND CHARTER FROM USING PUBLIC FUNDS
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today
warned against the siphoning of public funds to the peoples
initiative to be spearheaded by local government officials to amend
the 1987 Constitution.
Pimentel said it would be patently illegal to tap the government
coffers for the peoples initiative since this is intended, under
the 1987 Constitution, to be a purely private effort of registered
voters.
In fact, he argued that it will be in violation of the
constitutional intent if the governors, mayors and other local
officials, under the umbrella of the Union of Local Authorities of
the Philippines (ULAP), will take the lead role in carrying out this
mode of amending the Constitution and in gathering the required
number of signatures in all congressional districts.
A peoples initiative will cost a lot of money. The organizers will
have to pay for the expenses incurred in the information campaign,
community meetings and solicitation of signatures. Where will they
get the funds for this very expensive political exercises? the
minority leader said.
Earlier, Pimentel charged that the reenactment of the 2005 national
budget, as an offshoot of the continued delay in the enactment of
the 2006 budget, will enable the Palace to divert public funds for
the administrations Charter Change drive.
He warned of the repetition of the dubious practice in past fiscal
years in which the reenacted budget was virtually converted into a
pork barrel of the President that was used to buy the support of
members of Congress for her electoral bid and for foiling the
impeachment complaints against her.
Pimentel also said that ULAP and the leagues of provinces, cities,
municipalities and barangays had been used as conduits for
channeling public funds for partisan political activities, including
mass buying of votes in the 2004 elections.
This malpractice is very likely to be repeated in the peoples
initiative that ULAP is planning to launch next month, he said.
Pimentel also warned that the use of public funds could be a ground
to nullify the peoples initiative.
He recalled that during the previous attempt to amend the
Constitution in 1997 through peoples initiative to remove the ban
against the reelection of an incumbent president, the organizers has
at least the decency to put up a private organization called
Peoples Initiative for Reform, Modernization and Action (PIRMA).
Pimentel maintained that the move of ULAP to launch a peoples
initiative is bound to fail because of constitutional obstacles.
He pointed out that the system peoples initiative was intended by
the framers of the Constitution to apply only to minor or simple
amendments and not to wholesale revision of the Constitution that
aims to adopt a parliamentary system of government.
Pimentel cited the opinion of legal experts: It would be
practically impossible to conduct an overall review and revision of
the Constitution through the action of the entire electoral
population. Revision can rationally be done only by a deliberative
body convened for that purpose.
Moreover, he said the Supreme Court in March, 1997 held that
Republic Act 6735, the law on peoples initiative and referendum, is
insufficient to cover the system of peoples initiative envisioned
under the 1987 Constitution. The high court ruled that RA 6735
covers only initiatives to amend national and local laws.
The Supreme Court, in the same decision, said that the Commission on
Elections should be permanently enjoined from entertaining or
taking cognizance of any petition for initiative on amendments to
the Constitution until a sufficient law shall have been validly
enacted to provide for the implementation of the system. |