Senators on Tuesday took a firm stand, through a manifesto, to strongly oppose the signature campaign for a people’s initiative purportedly being pushed by the members of the House of Representatives to amend the 1987 Constitution.

The strongly worded manifesto, signed by the 24 members of the Senate, was read by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri at the resumption of the session.

“We respect and recognize the people as our sovereign, with the right to call for constitutional amendments. We must, however, guard against any sinister and underhanded attempt to change the Constitution by exploiting our democratic process under the guise of a people’s initiative,” the manifesto read.

Senators warned that should the PI succeed in its goal, which they claimed proposes only one change — to eliminate the Senate from the equation — they could no longer avert the overhaul of the entire Constitution.

“This so-called people’s initiative proposes only one change — in acting as a constituent assembly, the Senate and the House shall vote jointly,” they said.

“While it seems simple, the goal is apparent — to make it easier to revise the Constitution by eliminating the Senate from the equation. It is an obvious prelude to further amendments, revisions, or even an overhaul of our entire Constitution,” they added.

They continued: “If this PI prospers, further changes to the Constitution can be done with or without the Senate’s approval, or worse, even absent all the senators.”

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. yesterday said he was leaving it up to the Commission on Elections, or Comelec, to examine the signatures for the floated People’s Initiative.

“We just have to let the Comelec do their job, validate the signatures, and if there is suspicion of such activities, those signatures will not be counted,” Marcos said.

He also refuted reports that several individuals received payments of P100 each in return for signing a PI petition. The Chief Executive said there have been no confirmed instances of purchased signatures yet.

“To my knowledge, there is no such thing. What is being mentioned is not a payment in cash but rather promises of various benefits,” Marcos said.

‘No such thing’

He said that he asked the legislative body regarding the signature purchasing scheme. He even considered temporarily suspending the distribution of benefits to thwart this.

However, he withdrew this idea due to the anticipation of many individuals who are waiting to benefit from the social amelioration programs being linked to securing signatures.

“I asked everyone, especially in our legislature, ‘Is that true?’ Our releases have not changed; they are still constant,” Marcos said.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte sounded off against the PI, saying that accepting bribes to get signatures for cha-cha is “repugnant” and “disgraceful.”

“I am not in favor of such a move. So if that’s the case, they should just stop. It does not only leave a bad taste in the mouth, actually, it’s almost, how should I term it, repugnant, a disgraceful act,” Duterte said.

No elections

Several senators, including Imee Marcos, Jinggoy Estrada, Sherwin Gatchalian, Ronald dela Rosa and Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, have also criticized the purported signature drive for a people’s initiative.

Should Congress vote jointly in a constituent assembly, senators stressed that the Senate’s 24 members “cannot cast any meaningful vote” against the 316 members of the House of Representatives.

“This singular and seemingly innocuous change in the Constitution will open the floodgates to a wave of amendments and revisions that will erode the nation as we know it,” they said.

“To allow joint voting will destroy the delicate balance on which our hard-won democracy rests,” they added.

Likewise, senators also warned that allowing the PI to succeed would “destabilize the principle of bicameralism and our system of checks and balances.”

“With this change, the Senate is left powerless to stop even the most radical proposals. We cannot protect our lands from foreign ownership. We cannot stop the removal of term limits or have a no-election scenario in 2025, or worse, in 2028,” they stressed.

“It is ridiculous that the Senate, a co-equal chamber of the House, which is needed to pass even local bills, will have a dispensable and diluted role in Charter change, the most monumental act of policymaking concerning the highest law of the land,” they added.

Earlier this month, several members of the House of Representatives called out the alleged distribution of pay-offs in various districts across the country in exchange for voters’ signatures for Charter change via a people’s initiative.

The petition for a people’s initiative allegedly includes a provision that would have the House of Representatives and the Senate vote jointly or separately to amend the Constitution.

Senators reiterated that it would not let any attempts to undermine the country’s democracy succeed.

“Throughout Philippine history, the Senate has always been one of the first targets of those who seek to undermine our country’s democracy,” they said.

“Today, the Senate once again stands as a bastion of democracy, as it rejects this brazen attempt to violate the Constitution, the country, and our people,” they added.

They continued: “This Senate of the people will not allow itself to be silenced.”

To avert the “constitutional crisis” between the House of Representatives and the Senate, Zubiri earlier fled a resolution seeking a review and proposed amendments to certain economic provisions of the Constitution.

The concurrent resolution, which was also signed by Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda and Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, involves the review and amendments of the economic provisions in the Constitution, particularly Articles 12, 14 and 16.

Zubiri previously claimed that President Marcos had asked the Senate to take the lead in reviewing the economic provisions of the Constitution.

“The President agreed with us that the proposal was too divisive, and asked the Senate to instead take the lead in reviewing the economic provisions of the Constitution,” he said.

“In this way, we can preserve our bicameral nature of legislation,” he added.

Meanwhile, Speaker Martin Romualdez said the House would continue to push for a PI despite the Senate’s resistance to it, calling the process “the purest form of democracy.”

“I vehemently denounce any allegations of bribery or unethical practices in persuading citizens to sign the petition for a People’s Initiative. Such actions, if true, would violate the initiative’s spirit of honest and voluntary participation and erode our democratic foundations,” Romualdez said.

He refuted claims he had ordered members of Congress to muster the signatures to carry on with the PI under threat of sanctions.

“Our role is to facilitate and encourage democratic participation without direct involvement in the signature collection. We are committed to ensuring that proposals are processed in accordance with legal and constitutional guidelines, maintaining the integrity of our Constitution in subsequent legislative actions,” Romualdez said.

For his part, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda asserted that a PI is a valid mode of amending the Constitution, which the Senate cannot deny.

“That is why, despite its broad powers to legislate, the Senate can issue only a statement against the People’s Initiative. Ultimately, over and above the House and the Senate, the people are supreme and sovereign,” Salceda said.

With EDJEN OLIQUINO