COMELEC, sinimulan na ang pagbibilang ng mga pirma para sa people's initiative sa ilang lugar | Saksi
Saksi is GMA Network's late-night newscast hosted by Arnold Clavio and Pia Arcangel. It airs Mondays to Fridays at 11:00 PM (PHL Time) on GMA-7. For more videos from Saksi, visit http://www.gmanews.tv/saksi.
News updates on COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) and the COVID-19 vaccine: https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/covid-19/
#Nakatutok24Oras
Breaking news and stories from the Philippines and abroad:
GMA News and Public Affairs Portal: http://www.gmanews.tv
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gmanews
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gmanews
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/gmanews
GMA Network Kapuso programs on GMA Pinoy TV: https://gmapinoytv.com/subscribe
News updates on COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) and the COVID-19 vaccine: https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/covid-19/
#Nakatutok24Oras
Breaking news and stories from the Philippines and abroad:
GMA News and Public Affairs Portal: http://www.gmanews.tv
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gmanews
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gmanews
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/gmanews
GMA Network Kapuso programs on GMA Pinoy TV: https://gmapinoytv.com/subscribe
Transcript
00:00 The offices of the Comelec have started to count their signatures for the people's initiative.
00:06 But according to a retired chief justice, the Supreme Court has decided to accept the people's initiative
00:12 in the minor revisions of the Constitution.
00:16 Witnesses are Mackie Pulido and Sandra Aguinaldo.
00:19 In the images shared by the Commission on Elections,
00:25 local Comelec offices have already received signature forms for the amendment of the Constitution
00:34 through the people's initiative.
00:37 According to Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia,
00:40 the signature forms came from 400 municipalities and cities and it is continuing to increase.
00:47 This includes District 3 in the city of Manila, as well as District 3 in Quezon City.
00:53 And the Comelec offices in Pangasinan.
00:56 The counting has also started to see if the required number of signatures was met,
01:01 which is 3% of the registered voters in a district.
01:06 Garcia said that if the correct number of signatures was met,
01:10 the local office of Comelec will issue a certification.
01:13 The people's initiative will use the petition in the Comelec Main Office in Manila.
01:20 They need to be able to collect at least 12% of registered voters from the country.
01:27 The NBANC will issue a resolution finding sufficiency in the form of substance
01:32 and ordering the election officers to hold the signature pages
01:38 that were submitted to them to verify the signatures.
01:42 They will look at the signatures one by one on each page, on each form.
01:47 They will check if the registered voter is A, and if his registration is still active.
01:53 One of the Comelec's concerns is that the people who issued the report,
01:57 like the people who bought the signature or the people who signed it,
02:00 but they don't know where their signature is for.
02:03 There is also a way to get your signature back.
02:06 There is no prohibition on a person who says,
02:10 "I didn't understand my signature so I got my signature back."
02:13 Our local Comelec will just take note and get their signature back.
02:17 The local Comelec can remove it.
02:19 In our ordinary life, you don't just sign anything
02:22 until you don't understand what you're signing.
02:25 For now, no formal petition or complaint has been received from Comelec.
02:30 But if there is, they will take action immediately.
02:33 The Comelec spokesperson denied that they have additional 12 billion pesos this year for the charter change.
02:41 If you look at the 2024 Government Appropriations Act,
02:46 the additional funds were allocated to conduct and supervision of elections, plebiscite, referenda, and others.
02:54 So what we are looking at is the funds that were given to us for the 2025 elections.
03:00 That's what Comelec is doing now, preparing for the 2025 elections.
03:05 The Budget Department also said that the budget is not only for the charter change,
03:10 but it can also be used for other activities of Comelec,
03:13 such as preparing for national and local elections.
03:17 To those who support the People's Initiative,
03:20 Retired Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban has a reminder.
03:23 Based on a decision of the Supreme Court,
03:25 only minor revisions and not major revisions can be proposed by the People's Initiative.
03:33 That decision stands until now. That has not been reversed.
03:37 It means that it is easy for people to understand the issue,
03:40 unlike economic revisions and the change of the government system.
03:45 It is not like the Constitutional Convention or CONCON or Constituent Assembly or CONAS.
03:51 The People's Initiative has no chance to explain the issue.
03:55 This is the decision of the Supreme Court in 2006 in the Lambino v. Comelec case
04:00 when the People's Initiative was proposed to make the government parliamentary.
04:04 People need to understand our Constitution.
04:10 If people don't understand, it is hard for them to vote.
04:14 They cannot vote intelligently.
04:16 They cannot vote that this will affect their livelihood.
04:23 Because of the People's Initiative, Panganiban said,
04:25 the people should be behind this, not the politicians or the government.
04:29 To avoid doubt, former Senator Richard Gordon, a member of the 1971 Constitutional Convention,
04:36 said that the people behind this should tell the truth.
04:40 They have to be forthright.
04:41 Because if you change the Constitution and it says that there is a hidden agenda,
04:46 it will not be fair to the people.
04:48 For GMA Integrated News, I am Mackie Pulido.
04:51 Sandra Aguinaldo, your "Saksi".
04:55 Kapuso, let's be "Saksi" together.
04:59 Subscribe to GMA Integrated News on YouTube.
05:01 And for Kapuso abroad, join us on GMA Pinoy TV and www.gmanews.tv.
05:09 GMA Integrated News
05:14 www.gma.in.gma.in
05:19 (upbeat music)