Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos | PHOTO: Official facebook page of Benhur Abalos
MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos on Monday issued a stern warning to other Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) officials and reminded them to tread carefully when commenting on the signature campaign to amend the 1987 Constitution via people’s initiative.
In a press conference, Abalos clarified that DILG Undersecretary Chito Valmocina’s previous statements regarding barangay officials’ involvement in the signature campaign do not reflect the department’s official position.
“Gusto ko lang pong liwanagin na ang sinasabi niya tungkol dito ay kaniyang opinyon lamang. Hindi po ito ang official na stand o position ng DILG,” Abalos said.
(I just want to clarify that what he said about this is his opinion. This is not the official stand or position of the DILG.)
He then called on other DILG officials to be careful in speaking out on the “sensitive” matter to avoid confusion on the ground.
“Before you say anything, i-check mo muna yung data mo. Dapat pag-ingatan. Ang mahirap ngayon is to create confusion on the ground,” Abalos stressed.
(Check your data first. You should be careful. What’s difficult now is to create confusion on the ground.)
On January 20, Valmocina warned barangay officials about participating in the signature drive, saying they should not campaign for or comment on the matter.
Despite this, Abalos said that Valmocina will not be issued a gag order, but he hopes the incident will serve as a lesson to other DILG officials about commenting on issues.
“There is no gag order here. But when you say something, it will be attributed to the DILG. Let us be responsible,” Abalos continued in Filipino.<
In the same press conference, Abalos said that they are yet to issue a directive to barangay officials regarding their participation in the people’s initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution.
The signature campaign for amending the Constitution via people’s initiative is spearheaded by a pro-Charter change private group which has previously expressed intent to form a unicameral government.