Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Erwin Garcia (center) speaks at Kapihan sa Manila Bay on January 24, 2024, with National Convenor of People’s Initiative for Reform Modernization and Action (Pirma), Noel Oñate (right), and Pirma’s Chief Counsel Atty. Evaristo Gana (left). (Screengrabbed from a live video from Kapihan sa Manila Bay)
MANILA, Philippines — The signatures required for amending the 1987 Constitution via the People’s Initiative will be completed in three months, People’s Initiative for Reform Modernization and Action (Pirma) said on Wednesday.
Pirma’s National Convenor Noel Oñate noted that they are confident that the signature drive has been making remarkable progress since starting on January 2.
READ: Senate manifesto nixes people’s initiative, warns of no-el scenario
“All I can say is that people’s initiative is gaining ground,” Oñate said at Kapihan sa Manila Bay.
“We’ve been doing this for three weeks already, and we have already gathered 30 percent of (the) required signatures,” he revealed.
This translates to over two million of the eight million signatures required for the filing of a petition for People’s Initiative to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
“Based on that momentum, I think we will be finished in a maximum of three months,” Pirma’s Convenor continued.
He explained that they could gather the signatures quickly because they had coordinated with district representatives who aided their volunteers on the ground.
READ: Marcos urges to let Comelec validate Cha-cha signatures
Filipinos’ warm response to the people’s initiative has also helped them gather signatures at breakneck speeds, Oñate said.
Under Republic Act 6735 or the “Initiative for Referendum Act,” the required threshold to amend the Charter via people’s initiative is 12 percent of the total voting population, with each legislative district represented by at least three percent of the registered voters.
Going into detail, Pirma’s Convenor revealed that some congressional districts have exceeded the three percent requirement, with some reaching 15 to 20 percent.
“That’s why we are confident that we will meet the 12 percent (signatures), we may even exceed that,” Oñate said in Filipino.
READ: Pimentel: Comelec may face raps for accepting Charter change signatures
He further said that out of the 254 districts in the country, only 70 are yet to reach the three percent requirement.
When Pirma reaches the requirement for the number of signatures, they would have to file a petition to the Comelec where it would be verified.
More time
While Pirma may be able to gather signatures as early as April this year, Comelec Chair George Garcia clarified that it would take the commission some time to verify those signatures once the petition for people’s initiative is filed to the commission.
Garcia said that before verifying the signatures, they would have to take other steps, including a “determination,” among others.
“Baka abutin lahat-lahat ng five months…pinakamabilis na iyon,” he mentioned.
(It may all take five months…that’s the fastest.)
After the Comelec’s verification process can the people’s initiative move on with a national plebiscite.
Talking about the timeline for the plebiscite, Garcia said that it would be difficult to predict since Pirma is yet to submit its petition.
On Tuesday, Comelec Executive Director Teopisto Elnas Jr. said that any plebiscite must be held as early as now before the commission becomes too occupied with preparing for the 2025 national elections.
In a previous statement, Garcia noted that a national plebiscite in July, Pirma’s initial timeline, is unlikely.