‘ILLEGALLY, UNCONSTITUTIONALLY OBTAINED’

Imee Marcos urges PBBM to have a clear stand and halt PI

MANILA – Senator Imee Marcos urged his brother, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to stand firm and put an end to the People’s Initiative (PI), which seeks to amend the 1987 constitution.

“Until now, he says that we need to study it [and] consult legal luminaries. The Commission on Elections, on its own, has said that the signatures are still alive -- there’s no deadline, there’s no expiry date, and they can be used and recycled for future effort. Let’s set that aside. It’s illegally and unconstitutionally obtained. Let us not let this happen,” Senator Marcos said in a television interview on Thursday, February 1, 2024.

“Perhaps, he can make a very firm and clear stand. Put an end to the PI, and let’s do this properly together, and there will be no controversy,” she added.

The House of Representatives and the Senate have disagreeing positions on the PI amid claims of it being used for corruption.

Senator Marcos accused her cousin, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, of granting monetary reward to the tune of P20 million per legislative district in exchange of signatures for the PI.

Romualdez denied the accusations as he maintained any involvement for the push for PI.

Senator Marcos, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms, launched an investigation on the alleged anomalies related to PI as the Senate unanimously approved a manifesto rejecting constitutional amendment through PI.

During the hearing, People’s Initiative for Modernization and Reform Action (Pirma) lead convenor Noel Oñate admitted that he sought help from Romualdez in order to boost the signature drive, particularly to get three percent of signatures per congressional district.

On Wednesday, January 31, 2024, Marcos said his administration is working with allies to identify the best mode to amend the Constitution but he is not certain if PI would remain as one of the options.

He also urged the Senate and the House of Representatives to come up with a simpler solution that does not cause so much controversy.

Meanwhile, Senator Marcos also called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to echo President Marcos’ stand on issues surrounding the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation on the alleged crimes against humanities in the country under the drug war of the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

“With the ICC, let’s have the DOJ and all their employees, undersecretaries, and what have you, echo the President’s message that there should be an end to this. This should be clear,” she said.

“I am confused by the stand of the administration. The President says 100 percent ‘no.’ The DOJ says, ‘well, if they come, we’ll entertain them’ or ‘they’re just here... as observers.’ Ano ‘yon? Parang turistang namasyal pero iniinterview ang mga testigo? Nalalabuan ako e. Gusto ko talaga marinig kung ano e (What’s that? A tourist interviewing witnesses? I’m confused. I really want to hear what it really is),” she added.

Earlier, Senator Marcos said she will continue to stand up for the Dutertes, noting that the former President was the reason for her father’s transfer to the Libingan ng Mga Bayani, which for her was a sign of “true friendship.”

Senator Marcos expressed belief that the ICC investigation was one of the factors that prompted former President Duterte to verbally attack his brother.

During the prayer rally on Sunday, January 28, former President Duterte tagged President Marcos as “drug addict” and “bangag,” the local term used to describe a person who is high on illegal drugs.

In response, President Marcos said his predecessor’s outburst could be due to fentanyl, a regulated pain reliever that the former President admitted to be over-using due to migraine and spinal issues.

Former President Duterte dared his successor for them to undergo drug tests in Luneta.

He also noted that the medicine was prescribed to him by his doctors.

“Fentanyl is a medical thing, it eases up the pain. Pero nung naoperahan na ako, okay na ako (But when I had the surgery, I was fine) and that was about eight or seven years ago, shortly before I ran for presidency. Nagkaroon ako nang... talagang masakit. Itong fentanyl po, Mr. President, it is prescribed by a doctor. With prescription yan,” Duterte said.

“Ngayon bumwelta ka sa akin ng ganon (fentanyl use), tatanungin kita yung cocaine may prescription ba yan? Saan mo kinukuha yang supply mo?” he added.

(Now you’re using that (fentanyl use) argument with me. I’ll ask you about the cocaine, does it have a prescription? Where do you get your supply?)