F-*:'':*Tji,"I* SENATE SIXTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST REGUIAR SESSION
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(PETTTTONERS' COP9 REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPIN f-*:'':*TJi,"I* SENATE SIXTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST REGUIAR SESSION IN RE: PE,TITION FOR INDIRECT INITIATTVE TO ENACT A NATIONAL LEGISLATION TITLED ''AN ACT TO STRENGTHEN THE PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO INFORMATION'' PUBLIC SERVICES LABOR INDEPENDENT CONFEDERATION GSLINI9, PHILIPPINE RURAI RECONSTRUCTION MOYEMENT (PRR]VD, NATIONAL UNION OF JOURNAIISTS OF THE PHILIPPINES (I.JUJP), FOI YOUTH INITL\TIVE trTD, ALLIANCE OF PROGRESSIVE L\BOR (APL), CAUCUS OF DEVE,LOPMENT NGO NETWORKS (CODE-NGO), SOCTAL $TATCH PHILIPPINES, FOCUS ON THE GLOBAL SOUTH - PHILIPPINES, TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY NETWORK GAN), PEACE \rOMEN PARTNE,RS, PHILIPPINE AIRLINES EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION eALEA), PRUDENTIALIFE, NTARRIORS PILIPINAS, FrlrprNo MTGRANT STORKERS GROUP @'M$rc), AKSYONG KABAYANIHAN PARA SA ORGANTSADONG PAGBABAGO (ANGKOP), CE,NTER FOR MEDIA FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY (CMF'R), ANG KAPATIRAN PARTY, ACTION FOR ECONOMIC REFORMS, PHILIPPINE CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE, JOURNALISM (PCI), CE,NTER trOR MIGRANT ADVOCACY (CMA), FRE,EDOM FROM DEBT COAIITION EDC), WOMANHEAITH PHILIPPINES, PARTIDO NG MANGGAGAWA, BANTAY K[TA, PHILIPPINE ALLIANCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES EAHRA), (COLLECTTVELY, THE "RIGHT TO IAIOV. RIGHT N OV ! COALITIOTV"), Petitioners. x----------- ---------x PETITION Petitioners, by undersigned representatives, respectfiilly state that: Nature of the Petition 1,. This is a petition for Indirect Initiative filed with the Senate under Section 3 (b) and Section 11 of Republic Act 6735, or "The Initiative and Referendum Act", which provide: Section 3. Definition of Terms. For purposes of this Acg the following teflns shall mean: - xxx (b) "Indirect initiative" is exetcise of initiative by the people through a proposition sent to Congress or the local legislative body for action. xxx Section 11. Indirect Initiative. Any duly accredited people's orgarizaiofl, as defined by law,- may file a petition fot inditect initiati-re with the House of Representatives, and other legislative bodies. The petition shall contain a sunmary of the chief purposes and contents of the bill that the organtzaion ptoposes to be enacted into law by the legislature. The procedure to be followed on the initiative bill shall be the same as the enactmeot of any legislative measure befote the House of Reptesentatives except that the said initiative bill shall have precedence ovet the pending legislative measures on the committee. 2. The Petition proposes the eriactrnent into law by Congress of an Initiative BiII tided "ANI ACT TO STRENGTI{EN THE PEOPLETS RIGHT TO INFORMATION", also to be known as the "PEOPT F'-'S FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT''. 2.1. A copy of the Initiative BiIl is hereto attached a.s Annex rrAtr and made an integtal part of this Petition. 3. Petitioners have filed on 1 J.rty 2073 a similar Petition with the House of Representatives fot the passage of its counterpart version. 4. From the plain meaning of ptovisions of RA 6735 there is no question that a, Petition fot Indfuect Initiative may be fiIed with the House of Representatives. However, there is arrrbiguity as to whether RA 6735 allows the 2 filing of a similar petition with the Senate. While Section 3 (b) of RA 6735 speaks of "Congress" (which, by Article VI, Section 1 of the Constitution "consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives"), Section 1L speaks of "the House of Representatives, and other legislative bodies". Not only is the Senate not spelled out in conftast to the House of Reptesentatives, the phtase is also stated in the plural. 5. A textual reading of other related ptovisions of RA 6735 will not necessarily lead to a resolution of the ambiguity. Section 11 falls undet subtitle II: "National lnitiative and Referendum". Subtitle III, on the other hand, refers to "Local Initiative and Referefldumtt, and ptovides a procedure fot local Iegislative bodies diffetent than that under Section 11. In addition, the second pangraph of Section 11 speaks of a procedure to be followed in the eflactment of the initiative bill, but makes reference only to the House of Representatives. 6. Resort to the legislative record on RA 6735 will likewise not be instructive to the resolution of the ambiguity. RA 6735 is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 17 passed on Thitd Reading on 28 Septembet 1,987, and House Bill No. 27505 passed on Thitd Rearling on 24 Ap.il 1989. The Senate version confined itself to a system of initiative and referendum in local govemrnent units, adopting what the Senate's main sponsor, Senatot Neptali M. Gonzales, descdbed as "a cautious approach". G.ecord of the Senate, Vol. 1, No. 33, p. 871) In contrast, the House vemion coveted national laws (and even the Constitution). It provided for "Indirect Initiative" in Section 7 thereof, from which Section 17 of RA 6735 was adopted verbatim, except N thzt point it still did not include the phtase "and other legislative bodies". The phrase appeared in the Conference Committee Report on the disagteeing provisions of Senate Bill No. 77 ard House Bill No. 27505 approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives on 8 J*. 1989. An exarrination of the transcript of the conference committee meeting, however, does not disclose a discussion specific to the adoption/addition of the phrase "and other legislative bodies". 7. In an obiter dicturr in the case of Santiago vs. COMELEC (G.R. No. 127325, March 79,1997),theponenteJustice Davide,Jr. suggests that the phrase "and other legislative bodies" may have been misplaced and that it may have been referring to local legislative bodies, as follows: A frrrther examination of the Act even reveals that the subtitling is not accurate. Provisions not gelmane to the subtitle on National Initiative and Referendum ate placed therein, like (1) paragraphs (b) and (c) of Section 9, which teads: xxx @ that portion bf Section ll (Inditect Initiative) referrins to indirect initiative with the lecislative bodies of local governments; thus: Sec. 11. Indirect Initiative. Any duly acctedited people's orgarrization, as defined by law, -may file a petition for inditect J- initiative with the House of Representatives, and otber hgislatiue bodies. (emphasis supplied) 8. Given that Congress is the body pti-*ily rnvolved i" g.ri"g course to an exetcise of Indirect Initiative under RA 6735, Petitioners respectfuIly submit that the filing of this Petition calls for the Senate's exercise of its power and prerogative to contemporaneously resolve the ambiguity, ffid to decide whether or not RA 6735 allows the filing of this petition with the Senate. 9. Petitioner's position, and which we plead to this Honorable Senate, is that the phtase "and other legislative bodies" in Section 71 caurr be given a reasonable, just and legally valid intetpretation as necessarily including the Senate, and that therefore this Petition can be given due course. 10. RA 6735 urith respect to the enactrnent of laws finds its wellspring from Sections 7 ar'd 32, Artcle Vf, of the Constitution, which provide: Sec. 1. The legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines which shall consist of a Senate arnd a, House of Representatives except to the extent reserved to the people by the provisions on initiative and referendum. xxx Sec. 32. The Congress shall, as earLy as possible, provide for a system of initiative and refetendum, afld the exceptions therefrom, whereby the people can direcdy propose and enact laws or approve or teject any act ot law or part thereof passed by the Congress ot local legislative body aftet the rcgistration of a petition therefor signed by at least ten per centum clf the total number of tegistered voters, of which every legislative disttict must be represented by at least three per centum of the registered voters thereto. (emphasis supplied) 11. The Supreme Court has held that "provisions for initiative and referendum are liberally construed to effectuate their pu{poses, to facihtate and not to hampet the exetcise by the voters of the dghts gtanted thereby." In the case of Subic Bay Metopolian Authority vs. COMELEC (G.R. No. 125416, September 26,7996), the Supreme Court said: x x x Indeed we recognize that "(p)rovisions for initiative and teferendum liberally construed to etfectuate their ^re puiposes, to facilitate and not to hamper the exercise by the voters of the rights granted thereby." In his authoritative treatise on the Constitution, Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S. J. treasures these "instruments which can be used should the legislanrre show itself indifferent to the needs of the people." Impelled by a sense or ugency, Congtess enacted Republic Act No. 6735 to give life and form to the constitutional mandate. Congress also interphased initiative and tefetendum into the workings of local governments by including a chapter on this subject in the Local Goverrment Code of. 7997. And the Commission on Elections can do no less by seasonably and judiciously promulgating guidelines and rules, for both national and local use, in implementation of these lays. For its paft, this Court early on expressly recognized the revolutionary import of resenring people powet in the process of law-making. Iike elections, initiative and referendum are powerful and valuable modes of expressing popular sovereignty. And this Court as a matter of policy and doctrine will exert every effort to nurture, protect and promote their legitimate exercise. For it is but sound pubiic policy to enable the electotute to express their free and untrarnmeled will, not only in the election of theit anointed lawmakers and executives, but also in the formulation of the very rules and laws by which our society shall be governed and managed. 1,2. The purposes of initiative as provided in the Constitution and the meaning and intention of authots of RA 6735 would be best effectuated if the phrase "and other legislative bodies" is interpreted to cover the Senate for pu{poses of the filirg and consideration of a Petition for Inditect Initiative.