Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Wednesday called for accountability of individuals behind what he described as a “fake” people’s initiative for Charter change. 

Dela Rosa said those public officials involved in the alleged bribing and paying off of people for their signatures should be held accountable and face criminal charges. 

“Even if the Comelec has suspended its processing, we still want to know who are behind this fake initiative and make them accountable,” he said. 

Dela Rosa slammed politicians who are utilizing government funds to “fool Filipinos and advance their personal agenda.”

“We hope this will not be repeated. It’s just like pushing our people to the cliff by bribing them just to get their signatures for their ‘politicians’ initiative,’” he said. 

“And to top it all, there are reports that the bribe money comes from government funds,” he added. 

Dela Rosa said that using the government’s financial assistance programs to further the politicians’ agenda for a “fake initiative is much worse than” the “ayuda” scam recently investigated by the Senate Public Order and Dangerous Drugs Committee.

Dela Rosa wants those social welfare beneficiaries to retract their signatures from the PI drive, saying they were being used by politicians for “their personal interests.” 

Dela Rosa had previously aired his opposition to  the signature campaign for a people’s initiative to amend Article 17, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution to allow members of the House of Representatives and the Senate to vote jointly in a constituent assembly.