P1,500 a day to gather people’s initiative signatures, says Senate witness

MANILA, Philippines — Jocelyn Movera, a Bukidnon native, testified in the Senate on Tuesday that some individuals gathering signatures for the amendment of the 1987 Constitution are paid P1,500 per day.  

Movera disclosed this during the Senate committee on electoral reforms and people’s participation, saying she received P3,000 from certain Adonis Gonzales and Adonis Ragasi. 

“Sabi nila, magpapirma kami sa tao at bibigyan kami ng bayad na 1,500 a day,” said Movera who responded in Cebuano.

(They asked us to gather signatures and we will be paid P1,500 a day.)

According to Movera, they were given two documents — one to be submitted to Congress, the other to be passed to the Commission on Elections. 

“Bale ang ibinigay po sa amin ay P1,500 a day tapos po in-advance po yung isang araw bale P3,000 po ang natanggap namin,” she added. 

(What was given to us was 1,500 a day and then one day was given in advance, so we received 3,000.)

Movera said she was able to participate in the signature drive for only a few days because a certain Barangay Captain Alex Salvaña ordered the initiative’s discontinuation as it “did not undergo barangay” processes. 

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri lamented Movera’s exposé, saying that people behind the people’s initiative drive must have been wealthy.

“Imagine, ilang libong barangay yan sa Pilipinas. Kung ang pangako nila ay 1,500 per person, naku hundreds of millions of pesos siguro ang pinag uusapan natin dito. Hindi ito ordinaryong tao ang pasimuno nito,” Zubiri pointed out.

(Imagine, it covers thousands of villages in the Philippines. If their promise is P1,500 per person, we are probably talking about hundreds of millions of pesos here. The one who initiated this is no ordinary person.)