Election lawyer to Comelec: Stop receiving Cha-cha signatures

Veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal on Monday called on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to stop receiving signature sheets for the people’s initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution.

In a statement, the lawyer said there is no legal basis for anyone to submit the signature sheets to the poll body.

“Without a formal petition having been filed, it is premature to submit these signature sheets to the Comelec and there is likewise no valid reason for the Comelec to receive them. In other words, the signatures cannot be filed ahead of the petition,” he said.

Sought for comment, Comelec chairperson George Garcia said the poll body's action on the signatures is guided by a resolution it earlier promulgated.

Macalintal cited Section 2, Article XVII of the Constitution which states that amendments through the people’s initiative must be “upon a petition.”

He further said the Supreme Court previously ruled that the public must first read the petition before they sign it.

“It is just a waste of time and paper because these signature sheets have no evidentiary value or cannot be the basis of an initiative. It gives a wrong impression to the people that an initiative to amend the charter has already been properly or validly initiated,” he said.

According to Macalintal, the Comelec also cannot start verifying the signatures yet as the verification fees have not yet been paid.

“To date, no one has ever complied with these basic requirements, hence, no valid initiative has yet been properly initiated or filed with the Comelec,” he said.

Guided by resolution

Garcia said Comelec Resolution No. 10650 guides the poll body's action on the signatures.

“Failing on our part to observe the guidelines that we ourselves promulgated is highly irregular,” Garcia told GMA News Online.

Garcia said they are only issuing certifications on the number of signatures received.

Earlier, Comelec said at least 884 cities and municipalities have received several pages of signatures for the people's initiative.

Garcia also said that the Comelec is not yet verifying the signatures.

“This will happen after determination of sufficiency in form and substance only after a petition is filed. No petition yet,” he said. —LDF, GMA Integrated News