A Philippine Catholic bishop urged Filipino voters to be more discerning of attempts to get their support for a people’s initiative to amend the country’s constitution.

That’s amid the claim by several lawmakers that there is growing clamor for charter change.

The signature campaign for the charter change petition has reached Davao City and parts of Cebu.

A Cebu resident said they didn’t explain why they had to sign. However, some people signed it at home because they know the person collecting the signatures,

This kind of report and alleged bribes being offered for signatures alarmed Taytay Palawan Bishop Broderick Pabillo prompting him to issue this call to the faithful.

“Don’t sign immediately and have a discussion. Give it time for people to decide. And then once they have reflected on it, we respect the decision of the people. But they should not deceive this way,” Pabillo said.

Pabillo expressed doubts that the petition to amend the 1987 constitution is an initiative of the people.

“People don’t talk about this initiative. Many are not familiar with the constitution, they don’t want this — they need jobs, education, and food,” Pabillo said.

Pabillo said sufficient time and explanation should be given to the public so they would understand the consequences of the petition that seeks joint voting of the two chambers of congress on proposed constitutional amendments.

“What is worrisome is they will dilute the power of the senate. If they vote jointly, the senate will lose their power,” Pabillo added.

The Catholic Bishops of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs stressed that the charter change is not a panacea of to the country’s ills. It said that curbing corruption, promoting social justice, and delivering social services are the best antidotes.

Senator Joel Villanueva shares his sentiment adding that the ultimate goal of the Charter goal initiative is term extension.

Kabataan Partylist Representative Raoul Manuel said that they are gathering evidence and studying the possibility of filing a resolution to investigate the reported offer of money and government aid in exchange for signatures on the charter change petition.

“It’s another way to fool the people because in this case — they can influence people to agree on something without them giving a full explanation,” Manuel said.