Saturday, October 14, 2006 Elections may be delayed for 6 months By Lory Ann B. Bilbao
REPRESENTATIVE Arthur Defensor speculated the possibility of a six month postponement of the 2007 polls considering there is a pending petition for a people’s initiative for a change in the Charter before the Supreme Court.
The six months shall be given to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to prepare for the elections.
“I’m not sure how the Supreme Court decides on People’s Initiative. It’s quite difficult convincing them for an amendment through a People’s Initiative.”
The representative cited the 1997 decision of the Supreme Court on Miriam Defensor-Santiago v. Comelec case where the high tribunal decided that the people’s initiative despite provided as one of the modes to Cha-cha under RA 6735, it is an inadequate.
The same decision granted the petition of Santiago which argued that the people’s initiative is limited to amendments to the constitution and not to revision.
“Extending or lifting of term limits constitutes a revision and is therefore outside the power of the people’s initiative,” it stated.
There were however dissecting opinions on the decision whereby Judge Artemio Panganiban said they might re-examine the same decision.
Sigaw ng Bayan, which Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (Ulap) is a member, pushed for the people’s initiative, first for the purpose of changing the form of government from presidential to Parliamentary. Thus, extending the terms or lifting thereof to compose parliament members.
Certainly however, Defensor wanted that the constitution be changed but not through people’s initiative which shall surely meet legal obstacles and other stumbling blocks with the legal issues that has been raised against the said mode.
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