A father-and-son, both lawyers, will launch a signature campaign to withdraw the signatures for People's Initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution.
Lawyer Cesar Beloria Jr. and his father, Cesar Beloria Sr., said Thursday, Jan. 25, that they will launch the signature campaign this weekend, which will be used for an intervention with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for any petition for charter change.
Beloria said if Comelec received for safekeeping the signatures for People’s Initiative for charter change, there is no reason that they would not receive the intervention using the signatures reflecting the true People's Initiative.
He also revealed that there are already three barangays which signified that there are residents who are withdrawing their signatures.
“Even if we only gather 10 signatures from people who want to withdraw their signatures, that would be enough evidence that deception was made in that PI,” Beloria said.
He said, “We have no choice but to come out and stir the people so that they would realize that there is something really wrong in the procedures with the People's Initiative. Our move is very simple, if you have signed the PI and you realized that there is deception, you were paid, and later on you realized what you had signed, then you can sign with our true people's initiative," Beloria pointed out.
He said even the Office of Senator Joel Villanueva has been calling for those who would like to withdraw their signatures can do so.
"They have to understand that once the petition for Charter Change is filed before the Comelec, and Comelec would be able to verify that the 12 percent signatures per district which is required is met, then it will be published and would include provisions that the Senate and the House of Representatives will vote jointly. The Senate President or the Speaker of the House of Representatives can call anytime for the Constituent Assembly. This will then entail numbers, that's why the senators already reacted because if this PI succeeds, the Senate would no longer have a role because they will be outnumbered. The Constituent Assembly maybe convened either by the Senate President or the Speaker of the House and if they get the three-fourths vote, the ConAss could be convened. The Senate could be sidelined and will have no power while the lower house would be so powerful which is very dangerous," Beloria stressed.*