With the way some senators blurt out “PI” when speaking about the constitutional amendment ambition of the House of Representatives, you would think it was a bad word.
The “PI” that Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa and some other senators referred to is the “people’s initiative” which is being conducted in barangays around the country, according to reports, but the person allegedly behind it is House Speaker Martin Romualdez. Even Senator Imee Marcos said it was her cousin, Romualdez, who is “definitely” behind the controversial initiative. She added that Romualdez’s office offered P20 million per legislative district in exchange for signatures to the PI. Romualdez has denied the allegations.
The 1987 Constitution states that amendments can be done via a vote by three-fourths of all members of Congress or a constitutional convention. The Charter also states that amendments “may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition of at least 12 per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three per centum of the registered voters.”
That requirement has reportedly been reached, according to Albay Representative Joey Salceda (2nd district) who said he got the information from his sources. Salceda said the 12 percent threshold requirement for voters’ signatures has been achieved nationwide, apart from the three percent at the district level. “It’s already 12.1 percent. It’s a point of no return,” he told reporters.
However, there remains to be confusion about the nature of the proposed amendments. Dela Rosa said the ongoing PI is not a people’s initiative but a “politician’s initiative.” He’d say “PI” in a forceful manner like he was saying a swear phrase of the same initials that calls one’s mother a prostitute. He joined other senators in rejecting the planned changes which they said were meant to extend terms of office and allow the House to outnumber the Senate if voting as one would be allowed to pass amendments to the Constitution. They said they would support Charter change if meant to strengthen the economy by opening business ownership to foreigners.
A House member, however, said the senators are muddling the issue on constitutional reform because economic provisions are indeed among the amendments being eyed.
So much time and people’s money have been spent on the Charter change ambitions of our legislators that you wonder if the exercise will be worth it. The people are not being informed or do not understand the changes they are proposing via their initiative. What is dominating the discussion is the disagreements between the Senate and the House, the allegations of Senator Marcos against her cousin, and the amounts of P100 to P3,000 reportedly being given to each voter for their signature to the PI.
I wouldn’t be surprised if others decided they might as well say “PI,” the expletive, to the circus happening with Charter change efforts.