Romualdez: House had no hand in pushing for people’s initiative

MANILA, Philippines — Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said on Friday that the House of Representatives did not have any hand in the current issue of the people’s initiative (PI).

“The people’s initiative is not initiated out of the Congress eh. As you know, there are three modes. ‘Di ba, may Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass), where the House and the Senate convene as one; electing delegates, ‘di ba, to a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con). Pero wala namang pakialam ‘yung senador o ‘yung miyembro ng Congress sa people’s initiative,” Romualdez said in a press briefing.

(The people’s initiative is not initiated out of the Congress. As you know, there are three modes. There is a Con-Ass, where the House and the Senate convene as one, and there is electing delegates to a Con-Con. The senators or members of Congress don’t meddle in the people’s initiative.)

Romualdez made the statement when he was asked to react to the claim of Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III that the House of Representatives should not “hijack” the PI.

READ: New initiative push: Perilous, dangerous

“Walang partisipasyon ang mga congressmen d’yan, so I don’t know what they’re making reference to,” Romualdez added.

(The congressmen do not have any participation there, so I don’t know what they’re referring to.)

The House Speaker added that as long as lawmakers don’t use their offices or official government funds for the PI, they are in the clear.

“Pero at the end of the day, senators and congressmen are people no? So as long as you are not using government funds, you are not using your offices in pursuit of these purely civilian activities, you’re in good stead,” he concluded.

READ: Romualdez to Senate: Let’s get down to work