Bato: Solons said Romualdez ordered PI signature campaign; Speaker denies

Bato says he was told Romualdez ordered Cha-cha signature drive; Speaker denies

Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on Monday said that a congressmember told him Speaker Martin Romualdez ordered his colleagues to facilitate the push for a people’s initiative in a bid to amend the 1987 Constitution. Romualdez denies this.

Dela Rosa made the claim as he expressed opposition to the ongoing signature campaign, which supposedly asked voters if they were in favor of amending Article 17, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution to allow all members of Congress to jointly vote on proposed constitutional amendments in a constituent assembly.

For Dela Rosa, those who pushed for this amendment are only considering their self-interest, but added that they cannot be blamed if there were orders from the House leadership.

“Mahirap na ha kasi kung komprontahin mo rin sila, sabihin nila sayo na, ‘Boss, pasensya ka na, just following orders lang kami. May orders ang aming speaker. So sunod lang kami sa order,’’’ Dela Rosa said in a press conference.

“So, following orders lang daw sila. So, mahirap din na sisihin mo sila pero kung tutuusin pwede talaga sisihin. Bakit ba por que orders, sunod ka lang nang sunod? Makikinabang ka rin siguro d’yan sa order na yan bakit ka sumunod,” he added.

Asked if the orders are from Romualdez, Dela Rosa said, “Yun ang sabi sa akin ng congressman e. Di ko na sasabihin kung sino baka mamaya magalit sa kanya, pagalitan sya.”

In an ambush interview, Romualdez was asked to comment on Dela Rosa’s remarks.

The House top leader explicitly said, “No orders.”

“I don’t know what Senator Bato is talking about,” Romualdez added.

Further, Dela Rosa divulged that constituents in Davao City were offered P100 to P3,000 in exchange of their signatures for the people’s initiative efforts.

“Merong nag-iisyu sa Davao City pipirma sila inisyuhan sila ng claim stub pirma claim stub siguro para sa TUPAD [Tulong Panghanapbuhay Sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers] or sa AICS [Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations],” Dela Rosa said, referring to social aids of the government.

“Tanungin niyo kung sino ang mga congressman sa Davao except Congressman Pulong [Duterte], ‘di sila kasama d’yan. Tanungin niyo kung sino congressman ang nagpapaikot don,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva called on the public to report the incidents of alleged bribery in the signature gathering for charter change (Cha-cha).

The Senate leader released the statement exactly a week after Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri revealed that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. himself bucked efforts to amend the 1987 Constitution through people’s initiative.

Senator Imee Marcos had filed a resolution seeking a Senate probe into the alleged Cha-cha-related bribery.

Meanwhile, Zubiri and two other senators had filed a Resolution of Both Houses which proposes amendments to certain economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, including reforms in the Public Services Act, education, and advertising industry by adding the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law.”

Last week, Zubiri said Marcos had asked the Senate to take the lead in reviewing the economic provisions of the Constitution—a request which is contrary to the Senate president’s earlier stand that cha-cha is not a priority of the upper chamber. — BM, GMA Integrated News

This article Bato: Solons said Romualdez ordered PI signature campaign; Speaker denies was originally published in GMA News Online.