Two members of the 1986 Constitutional Commission that crafted the Constitution called the ongoing People’s Initiative (PI) a “trojan horse.”
In a position paper sent to the Senate electoral reforms and constitutional amendments committee which was read by Senator Imee Marcos in a hearing today, retired Chief Justice Hilario Davide objected, not only to the PI, but also to amending the charter, saying there are no compelling reasons for it.
“It is now clear and beyond any shadow of doubt that the People’s Initiative could be a trojan horse that would open the floodgates to amendments to benefit vested political and business interests,” Davide said.
He supported the Senate’s investigation into the alleged use of government assistance programs and bribery in the said people’s initiative, saying that these efforts “should never be tainted with or stained by any vice, defect, trickery, deceit, misrepresentations, wickedness, and corruption of any kind.”
In Greek mythology, a Trojan horse is a huge hollow wooden horse constructed by the Greeks to gain entrance into Troy during the Trojan War, according to Britannica.com. Merriam-Webster.com defines it as “someone or something intended to defeat or subvert from within usually by deceptive means.”
Rene Sarmiento also objected to the PI which wanted Congress to jointly vote on future amendments to the Constitution.
Sarmiento said that like the previous attempts to amend the 1987 Constitution via PI, the ongoing efforts are “likewise fundamentally flawed.”
“Stripped of its disguise, the third initiative push is a Trojan horse that can be employed as a preliminary step to change substantial provisions in the Constitution covering economic, political, judicial, human rights, and social justice provision,” he said.
“It is not the Filipino people behind the initiative as author of the proposal, and they would simply be asked to sign the signature sheet without the benefit of understanding the nature and implication of the proposal,” he added.
Both members of the constitutional commission explained that what is being pushed in the PI is a mere revision and not an amendment, which is not an intent of the 1987 Constitution’s provision allowing this mode to amend the charter.
They likewise objected to the proposal for the Senate and the House of Representatives to vote jointly in a Constituent Assembly to amend the Constitution.
“Under Section 1, Article XVII, the Senate and the House of Representatives shall vote separately, not jointly in amending or revising the Constitution. To vote jointly will be fatal to the Senate because of the formidable number of Congressmen vis-a-vis the small number of Senators,” Sarmiento said.
Davide said the proposal in the ongoing people’s initiative “downgrades the Senate President, who is the third highest ranking official of our country and who is elected by the entire electorate of the country. The Speaker is a representative only of a District.”
“This clearly anomalous situation brings to the fore the real motive or reason behind the move to deceive, beguile or trick our people into signing the current People’s Initiative,” he said.
“The idea could only come from politicians who have sinister plans or motives. I would not wish to elaborate on what these plans or motives are. What is uppermost is the removal of all obstacles to accomplish these plans via Constitutional amendments. The main obstacle today for that is the SENATE which refuses to dance the People’s Initiative Chacha,” he added..
The Senate electoral reforms continued its hearing into the alleged payoffs linked to the PI.
Several senators condemned this believing that this would dilute the power of the Senate to amend the charter, and called on those individuals behind the initiative to stop it.
Some senators, including Marcos, pointed to her cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez, as the person behind the people’s initiative.
During the Senate probe last Tuesday, the lead convenor of People’s Initiative for Modernization and Reform Action (PIRMA), the group behind the ongoing PI, admitted that they had coordinated with Romualdez to gather the signatures required to revise the constitution.
Romualdez had denied involvement in unlawful activities such as vote-buying related to the people’s initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution.
However, he confirmed that he has met with PIRMA lead convenor Noel Oñate in his townhouse.
While Senator Marcos and Romualdez had exchanged strong statements against each other, the president’s sister said the issue of people’s initiative is “no mere family squabble.” —LDF, GMA Integrated News
