DADAT, Louie Marie M.

2014
1-D

13 September
W / Th (730 / 530)

Section 2. Amendments to this Constitution may likewise be

directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition
of at least twelve 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 therein. No
amendment under this section shall be authorized within five
years following the ratification of this Constitution nor oftener
than once every five years thereafter.
The Congress shall provide for the implementation of the exercise
of this right.
Republic Act No. 6735 also known as AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A
SYSTEM OF INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM AND APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFOR
Applying the said initiative in AN ACT ABOLISHING THE
PORK BARREL SYSTEM, though the proposal was not able to
obtain majority votes allowing the pork barrel system run for a
few more years, in Belgica vs Honorable Executive Secretary (G.R.
No. 208566) the informal practices institutionalized in
government agencies that has been observed since 1991 has
been adjudged, with favorable results, after almost a decade,
from the Philconsa case.
From the foregoing the power given to the people of the
Philippines by the Constitution is not only a Constitutional right
but also a right because the people are the sovereign therefore
when a plebiscite or referendum is initiated it is the bounden duty

of the people as citizens to recognize whether or not the initiative

needs passage or not.
The peoples power, for plebiscite or referendum, may be
comparable to the Presidents veto. Admittedly it is not as
frequently exercised by the people nor is its results speedy
but it is as powerful if not more powerful.
The people, even though vesting powers to the three
branches of the Government through the Constitution, has to
have a safety net they can fall back on when all else fails (i.e.
informations filed for declaration of unconstitutionality where the
Court either dismisses it for lack of merit or it is acceptable under
the Constitution). The vesting and separation of these powers
together with the check and balances doctrine allows the people
to be complacent that these branches of the Government would
put into practice what is constitutionally given to them to employ.
Thus letting the people not worry that the State fall into ruins.
However, the people should not be complacent enough as to
allow these branches do what they will. The power was divested
however the people are still the sovereign. Therefore such
legislation, Section 2 Article XVII, is just and right and when the
people calls for a plebiscite or referendum, the citizens should
lend an ear, because it means that ordinary filing of information
has failed and it is now in the hands of the sovereign to rectify the
error or unjust done to the State.
Moreover grievances of the people are not able to reach
the ears of the executive, legislative and judiciary. Through a

peoples initiative under Article XVII Section 2, it gives the people

one common foe to defeat. Garnering those numbers of votes is
a rigorous process however it only shows that the citizens
themselves are unsatisfied with the current on-goings of the
Government. That being the case, calling for an initiative of
people, should make the Government realize that Hey there
must be something wrong to gain this kind of publicity.
That is why I do support AN ACT ABOLISHING THE PORK
BARREL SYSTEM.