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Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Cabaero: In five days
By Nini B. Cabaero
Beyond 30
EVEN God took seven days to create heaven and earth. What makes purveyors of Charter change think they could get a people’s initiative to amend the Constitution going after only five days from giving out the forms to barangay residents?
Barangay officials of Cebu City distributed over the weekend “people’s initiative” forms where voters were to decide on moves to amend the 1987 Constitution. In the case of Barangay Mambaling, barangay council member Wilfredo Go said he was told by Interior and Local Government department personnel his barangay has five days to get at least 200 signatures from among its registered voters. Those signatures would form part of the six million needed to have the initiative going.
The “people’s initiative” provision of the Constitution states that the people through initiative may propose amendments to the Charter upon a petition of at least 12 percent of the total number of registered voters, “of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three percent of the registered voters.”
There is no doubt that the “people’s initiative” mode is one of the three allowed under the Constitution for amendments. In addition, the Constitution is not a perfect document, had never been since it was ratified; thus working at improving it is always worthwhile.
The initiative at the grassroots becomes problematic, however, when people are not armed with the information on which to base their decisions.
Earlier discussions on constitutional amendments did not suffice in educating the people. With the many political controversies, the momentum set by Charter change proponents prior to the February coup attempt got aborted and the main issues sidetracked.
Five days or five months for the barangay residents to decide on Charter change would never be enough because of the absence of information about the options presented by the proponents. The need to inform people before they are given a deadline within which to decide and sign the form becomes vital especially since the Charter change drive is believed tied to the survival of the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The absence of education makes the signature drive for a people’s initiative the shotgun approach. And, as with issues forced down the throats of people, even if the Charter change reaches a plebiscite, getting their support under a new Constitution would be the next most difficult thing.
The Interior and Local Government department would do best to invest time, effort, and, yes, money to informing barangay residents of the proposed Charter changes before imposing a five-day deadline for their signatures.
(ninicab@sunstar.com.ph)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (March 28, 2006 issue)
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