Comelec halts acceptance of signature sheets for PI

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The Commission on Elections announced Jan. 29 that it has indefinitely suspended the acceptance of signature sheets, in connection with the move to amend the constitution through People’s Initiative (PI).

Comelec chairperson George Garcia said they decided to stop accepting signatures as they want to review first the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

“The Commission en banc came up with a unanimous decision to suspend any and all proceedings concerning the People’s Initiative. Suspend muna namin lahat ng proseso kahit ang pagtanggap ng local Comelec ng mga signature sheets (We will suspend all processes, even the local Comelec’s acceptance of signature sheets),” he said in a press conference at the Comelec office in Intramuros, Manila.

“Base sa aming assessment, kailangan amin i-review, enhance and dagdagan ang aming IRR concerning the People’s Initiative. Sa ating palagay, may mga bagay na kulang at wala sa aming guidelines,” Garcia added in a Philippine News Agency report.

He said halting the acceptance of signature sheets is necessary to avoid problems, chaos, and misunderstandings in the interpretation of rules.

He said a panel will review the rules, to be headed by the executive director and law department director.

“At the same time, we are going to consult with everybody concerning the rules. (The rules need to be clear) when you say amendment, revision of the entire Constitution,” Garcia said.

He added that signature sheets received by city and municipal election officers will stay with Comelec, although PI proponents could also withdraw the signature sheets they have submitted.

“Kung sa palagay ng proponents dapat muna withdrawhin at sila mag-safekeep, okay lang ‘yan. Kasama sa magiging instruction namin ‘yan. Bukas loob namin ibibigay sa kanila ‘yan (If the proponents think they should be withdrawn first and they should keep it, that’s okay. That will be included in our instruction. We will gladly give them back),” Garcia said.

The Comelec has received signature sheets from 209 legislative districts so far, out of the 254 that are equivalent to about seven million signatures, Garcia said.

In Negros Occidental, sheets with more than 211,000 signatures from various local government units in support of PI have been submitted to the provincial Comelec office, as of last week. ||