Garbin: Signatories of people’s initiative fully understood content

The people’s initiative signature sheets that were submitted to the Commission on Elections office in Arroceros, Manila. (File photo by RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — Those who signed in support of the initiative fully understood the content of the signature sheet before agreeing to its terms, according to former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr., one of the petitioners for the people’s initiative (PI) to amend the Constitution.

Garbin was addressing allegations that the people’s initiative (PI) signature sheets used highly technical language that made it challenging for ordinary individuals to comprehend.

But on Monday, in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel, he clarified that proponents of the initiative had explained the content of the sheet in the signatories’ native language.

“You know, the signature sheets distributed, which contained the one-line proposed amendment to our Constitution, was explained to our countrymen at the barangay level. And it was translated into Tagalog. In our case in the Bicol Region, we translated it to Bicolano,” Garbin said, speaking partly in Filipino.

READ: Comelec OKs ‘withdrawal form’ to void Cha-cha petition signatures

The signature sheet asks voters explicitly whether they are in favor of amending Article 17 Section 1 of the Constitution, which, if amended via a people’s initiative, would entail all members of Congress voting jointly on proposed amendments.

“What we are saying is quite simple: Are you in favor of joint voting in Congress when there is a proposed amendment or revision to our Constitution? This means they will vote together and be counted as one assembly. They understand it. So I think there’s no technicality. They didn’t have a hard time understanding joint voting,” Garbin said.

Meanwhile, on February 14, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) approved the “withdrawal form” for individuals wishing to retract their signatures to support amending the Constitution through a people’s initiative.

However, Comelec emphasized that its acceptance of withdrawal forms is solely for “recording purposes” and should not be interpreted as a formal action by the commission on the petition.

READ: Comelec: No reason needed for people’s initiative signature withdrawal

In late January, Comelec suspended the acceptance of signature sheets for a people’s initiative in its local offices indefinitely to allow for a review of its regulations on the matter.

Despite this, Garbin said in the same interview that he and other people’s initiative proponents would continue their advocacy, remaining hopeful that the commission would “give PI a chance.”