Cha-cha...
accompanied by a Comelec form containing a declaration on the number of signatures collected. Under Comelec rules, the local election officers will only count the signatures, but will not yet verify whether they are genuine or not, or if they represent registered voters, Garcia said.
After issuing a certification on the number of signatures to the proponent and sending a copy to the Comelec clerk, the sheets will be in the custody of the local election offices until the Comelec en banc orders their verification, Garcia added.
No jurisdiction yet
“[ This is] so that we can compare the numbers later once a petition is filed,” he added.Lawyer John Rex Laudiangco, Comelec spokesperson, confirmed that the signature pages “mentioned Article 17 of the 1987 Constitution and the proposed amendment thereto.”
Garcia and Laudiangco reiterated that the Comelec had no jurisdiction yet on the
initiative drive as the actual petition had not yet been filed by the proponents with the Comelec clerk.
Aside from the proposed amendment, the petition under oath must contain an abstract or summary of the proposition and a statement that before the signatures were affixed, the signatories read and understood what the amendment was all about, and that they are aware that their signing meant they approved the amendment.
3% per district
The local election offices will then verify the signature sheets in their custody and issue the certification that the signatories represent at least 3 percent of all registered voters in the legislative district, a requirement under the Constitution.
The Const i t u t i on al s o requires that the total number of signatures represent at least 12 percent of the total number of registered voters nationwide.
After a 60- day signature verification period, the sheets will be submitted to the Comelec en banc which will determine if the number of signatures are sufficient and compliant with the constitutional requirements, and, after resolving appeals, schedule the plebiscite that must be held within 60 days to 90 days.
Not gov’t-funded
Under the Constitution, there are three ways to introduce constitutional amendments: upon the vote of three-fourths of all members of Congress; via constitutional convention; and through direct proposals in a petition of at least 12 percent of registered voters.
For people’s i nitiatives, Comelec Resolution No. 10560 prohibits those calling for a constitutional revision, statutes involving emergency measures and measures embracing more than one subject.
The same resolution states that signatures in the Charter change drive may be voided i f these were sought using government funds.
Under Section 16 of the measure, t he gathering of signatures for the people’s initiative “shall not be funded from public sources.”