Bayan Muna has posted on social media sample affidavits of withdrawal of signature for registered voters who have changed their minds about the people’s initiative to revise the 1987 Constitution (Charter change or Cha-cha).
Atty Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna called on groups against the people’s initiative to help disseminate the forms.
“These forms will help right a wrong and prove that there is deceit involved in the fake people’s initiative drive. We ask groups opposed to Cha-cha to help facilitate the withdrawal of people and submit this to Comelec,” Colmenares said.
The form stated: “It is my intention, by filing of this Affidavit of Withdrawal, to WITHDRAW my signature, therefrom, and hereby inform the COMELEC to consider my signature withdrawn from the same.”
On Friday, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it had received signatures from more than 1,000 municipalities and cities across the Philippines for the ongoing people’s initiatives to amend the 1987 Constitution.
In the signature pages, Garcia said the voters were asked if they were in favor of amending Article 17, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution by allowing all members of Congress to jointly vote on proposed constitutional amendments in a constituent assembly.
The current Article 17 Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution does not explicitly provide whether members of the Senate and the House of Representatives should vote jointly or separately.
Under the 1987 Constitution, amendments can be directly proposed by the people “through initiative upon a petition of at least 12% of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least 3% of the registered voters therein, a mode called people’s initiative.”
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has said the Comelec should be allowed to do its job on the people’s initiative. —with a report from Anna Felicia Bajo/KG, GMA Integrated News
