President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will appeal to the members of the House of Representatives and proponents of the people’s initiative to stop the controversial petition, Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri said Monday.

In a privilege speech, Zubiri said Marcos disclosed it to him during their meeting in Malacañang before the latter departed for his official visit to Vietnam.

“We know that the President has ably served as a Senator himself, and he knows firsthand the value of bicameralism. He knows that if the Senate’s approval is needed merely to change the name of a street, then the Senate cannot have a dispensable role in Charter Change,” he said.

“As such, the President is set to appeal to the House of Representatives and the other initiators of the People’s Initiative, to stop this dreaded PI or their version of the People’s Initiative,” he added.

According to Zubiri, the chief executive described the issues with the people’s initiative as “getting out of hand,” as both members of Congress have been exchanging words regarding the matter.

Senator Imee Marcos, the president’s sister, accused their cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez, the person behind the funding, including the timeline for the people’s initiative, which the senators are strongly against.

Senator Marcos claimed that the Speaker’s office even offered P20 million for each district across the country to gather signatures for the people’s initiative.

Responding to Senator Marcos’ allegations against him, Romualdez stressed that his cousin’s claims are “baseless,” challenging her to prove them in court.

"That is baseless. I might talk to her instead. Maybe she is gossiping or listening to gossipmongers. I'd like her to prove it and she has the proper means and ways. She can go to whatever court or agency," she said.

Zubiri also called on their counterparts in the House of Representatives to “adhere to the Constitution and abide by the intent of the framers.”

“We remind the House—the Constitution is not there to expand our

powers as elected officials. Quite the opposite—it serves as a limit on the exercise of these powers,” he said.

“These limitations serve to protect the people, defend their rights, and promote their common welfare. As the Senate has said from the very start, the Filipino people are our sovereign,” he added.

He continued: “All powers emanate from the people. Any measure that purports to promote, but in reality goes against their interest by sowing discord and confusion, must be stopped at all costs.”

‘Petition before Comelec’

After delivering a privilege speech, Zubiri, in an interview with reporters, expressed his gratitude to the Commission on Elections after the latter decided to stop all the proceedings related to the people’s initiative.

He, however, noted that the “fight” is far from over as the issue on the people’s initiative was not resolved with the Comelec en bank decision which includes the poll body’s acceptance of signatures in their local offices.

“We wanted to end the issue with the PI because it is not yet done. We wanted to end it first. We have options to file legal petitions with the Comelec, of course, no longer with the Supreme Court,” he said.

Earlier, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III revealed that the upper chamber is planning to file a petition before the Supreme Court to stop the signature drive for a people’s initiative.

Asked whether the Senate would continue to act on Resolution of Both Houses No. 6, which contains amendments to economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, Zubiri said senators have yet to decide on the matter.

“We are having a caucus now on the particular issue on RBH 6. I cannot answer on that particular issue but I believe Senator Imee’s hearing tomorrow would be pushed through,” he said.

’43 strong’

Zubiri, likewise, expressed gratitude to the constituents of the 43 legislative districts that have yet to sign on to the people’s initiative.

“Before I end, I would just like to present for the record the 43 legislative districts that stood firm and remained strong—I call them 43-Strong—that held off, out of the 254 districts,” he said.

Among the 43 legislative districts mentioned were the 6th District of Manila; 1st and 2nd Districts of Marikina; 1st and 2nd Districts of Valenzuela; 1st and 2nd Districts of Parañaque; and lone districts of Malabon, Pasig, San Juan, Taguig, and Taguig-Pateros.

The 1st and 2nd Districts of Ilocos Norte; 1st and 2nd Districts of Ilocos Sur; and 2nd Districts of La Union, likewise, did not participate in the people’s initiative.

The lone legislative districts in the Cordillera Administrative Region such as Benguet, Baguio, Kalinga, and Mountain Province were also not part of the list that completed the required numbers of voters’ signatures.