Lawyers decry ‘fake’ people’s initiative
BACOLOD CITY: A father and son, both lawyers, have called on those behind the signature campaign to amend the 1987 Constitution “not to fool the people.”
Cesar Beloria Jr. and his father, former government prosecutor Cesar Beloria Sr., launched on Saturday, January 27, a campaign for those who want to withdraw their signatures from the people’s initiative.
The younger Beloria said they will be circulating forms where residents can sign to indicate that they are withdrawing their signatures supporting what he said is “fake people’s initiative.”
“The signatures we can gather will be used to support the interVENTION WE WILL fiLE WITH THE COMmission on Elections (Comelec) once a petition for amendments to THE CONSTITUTION IS FORMALLY fiLED,” said the younger Beloria.
He said the signature campaign did not follow the process.
“If it is a true people’s initiative, it should start correctly,” Beloria said.
“If the Comelec received for safekeeping the signatures for the people’s initiative for Charter change, there is no reason that they will not receive the intervention USING THE SIGNATURES REflECTING THE true people’s initiative,” he added.
Beloria said residents in three villages in Bacolod City are willing to withdraw their signatures.
“Even if we only gather ten signatures who want to withdraw their signatures, that would be enough evidence that deception was made in that people’s favor initiative,” Beloria said.
“We have no choice but to come out and stir the people so that they would realize that there is something really wrong in the procedures with the people’s initiative,” said Beloria.
“Our move is very simple: if you have signed and you realized that there is deception, that you were paid and later on realized what you have signed, then you can sign with our true people’s initiative,” the young Beloria added.
He admitted that their advocacy is an uphill battle but “somebody has to stand up for what is right.”
The older Beloria said he is supporting his son’s campaign.
The two lawyers found an ally in the three Catholic bishops in Negros Occidental.
In a joint statement released on Friday, Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon, San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza and Kabankalan Bishop Louie Galbinez called for transparency of the initiative and condemned the alleged unethical practices in gathering signatures by using social assistance as leverage.
The three Negros bishops called for truth in Constitutional reform as they aired their concern over the ongoing signature campaign to amend the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
A concerning aspect of this campaign, the bishops said, is the ambiguity surrounding its proponents and the sources of funding. The identity of the people behind this initiative and those funding it remains largely unknown, casting doubts on the authenticity of it being a true people’s initiative.
The Church categorically condemned such practices and calls for integrity in all civic engagements, reminding us that our acTIONS MUST ALWAYS REflECT THE VALUES of truth, justice, and the common good, the bishops further said in the issued statement.
The reports of unethical practices, such as using social assistance as leverage to gather signatures and other manipulative practices, are deeply troubling, the bishops said.
These acts are not only morally reprehensible, as they also erode the integrity of our democratic institutions, they said.
They also called on civic officials to actively support and guide their constituents in making well-informed and thoughtful decisions by providing accurate information, fostering civic education and creating opportunities for open dialogue.
By empowering our people with knowledge and encouraging a discerning approach, we can ensure that the decisions made at the community level are informed, inclusive and beneficial for the common good, the Negros bishops stressed.
The bishops also called on Negrenses to seek a deeper understanding of the proposals, and not be swayed by mere rhetoric, or the promise of “ayuda,” but strive to engage in meaningful dialogue and informed discernment. Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the claim of the three Negros bishops that assistance was used as leverage to gather signatures in support of the people’s initiative to amend the Constitution should be proven.
“That is something that they have to prove. If they have strong evidence to prove that, then they can present that to Comelec,”
Lacson said on Friday.
Lacson said the “people’s initiative is constitutional so if the Church is against it they should ask Congress to amend the Constitution and remove that provision.”
Lacson said he would like to hear the bishops’ position on whether there is a need to improve the economic provisions of the Constitution to improve the economy.