DAVAO CITY, Philippines – In the “Duterte country” that is Davao City, some residents were lured to a signature campaign distributed in their communities in the past week seeking to amend the Constitution which they thought was part of Duterte’s campaign.
But when First District Representative Paolo Duterte and Third District Rep. Isidro Ungab called out this week that the signature campaigns are not theirs, and Duterte even went out to allege that Davao-based party-list representative Margarita ‘Migs’ Nograles of the Pwersa ng Bayaning Atleta is behind this move and is paying off people, Davawenyos are more confused.
Some residents of Barangay 23-C said the signature campaign was not explained to them before they were asked to write their names and signatures.
Myrna, 43, a vendor in Bankerohan Public Market, said in an interview that she was asked by her sister through text to include the names of her entire family in a list to receive assistance. Without hesitation, she provided the details of her name, her husband, and two of her children.
“Gitext ra man ko niya kay kuan daw lagi naay nangayo og lista sa mga pangalan sa mga tawo diha sa amoa. Unya daw dayon ihatag mao tong ang akong magulang nitext nako kay wala man mi sa balay maadlaw,” she said.
(I was only informed by text messages that someone is asking to list down names of people in our place. Then they will give something, that’s why my sister texted me since I was not home at that time.)
But Myrna did not confirm if she had allowed her sister to just forge the signatures of her family members. She later learned from her daughter that it was about a signature campaign that was intended to support the “cha-cha” or charter change.
This week, congressmen from various districts and concerned citizens posted about similar signature campaigns circulating in their district which allegedly involved money.
Bayan Muna party-list reported that they have monitored this signature campaign being conducted in various barangays across the country, claiming that it is to enact AICS and TUPAD, aids for the public.
Last December, House Speaker Martin Romualdez announced that the House of Representatives would push the amendments of the constitution this year, focusing on amending the economic provisions in the charter to “make it more attuned, sensitive and responsive to the times.”
Whether the public understands this issue remains to be seen.
Another Davao City resident, Joseph Tabosares, 41, also a vendor in Bankerohan said he was also approached by people who identified themselves that they are from the PBA party-list, and asked him to sign a paper for “pahalipay” or packages.
Tabosares said he read the heading of the paper stating that it is for the amendments to the constitution. Thinking that it was a move of the Duterte family, he did not hesitate to sign the paper including his wife and two in-laws living in his house.
“Sa una gyud ato abi gyud nako kanang para suporta kay Inday ba nya, niana man tong lalaki nga lista lang kay naa daw lagi madawat. Alangan dilian namo nga sayang man pud so mao to akong gipapirma sab akong mga sakop,pero wala gyud mi kabangkaagan ato oi,” Tabosares explained.
(I thought at first this was in support of [Vice President] Sara [Duterte], the man told me to write down my name and I’ll get something. Why would I refuse, so I signed it, and my companions signed too, but we have no idea what this is about.)
“Daghan man gyud ang namirma ana kay ang paila sa amoa taga PBA baya, nya kabalo pud baya mi nga last election uban man sila. Ang akong papa man gani kay nitabang pag panawag sa mga silingan namo para madali tong listahanan,” said Kristal, a 26-year old vendor.
(Many people signed it because they identified themselves as PBA, which we thought they were allied in the last elections. My father even helped and called the neighbors to hurriedly sign this.)
When Davao Today asked some marketgoers in Bankerohan about their opinion on amending the constitution many of them did not understand the purpose of the said move from the House of Representatives.
Some of them are also puzzled about Paolo Duterte’s statement opposing the people’s initiative posted on his three social media accounts, as they first thought it was a Duterte-backed effort to ensure a strong alliance with the Marcos administration, which was faltering over the confidential fund’s issue.
Duterte and Ungab issued separate statements criticizing the signature campaign, alleging that people were given money from P100 to P3,000, with Ungab saying this move is considered “vote buying”.
Both congressmen, who are allies in the Hugpong ng Pagbabago Party, did not specify in their statements their reasons why they are opposed to the people’s initiatives, but Paolo issued strong words against Nograles.
They issued out similar calls that “the Davawenyos are not for sale”, which was turned into a slogan spread in tarpaulins hanging on main sidewalks.
“Kung wala tong giingon ni Pulong nga wala sya nagsupport atong papirma wala mi kabalo. Kung kay digong to support gyud mi, pero daghan gihapon namirma oi sa amoa pa lang gani. Solid gyud baya mi, mao tong sugot dayon,” Atan, a tricycle driver in Bankerohan, lamented over signing the petiton.
(If Polong hadn’t made that statement that he isn’t supporting this, we didn’t know that. If it comes from [former President] Digong [Duterte], we’ll support it, but many of us have signed this already. We are solid behind them, that’s why we signed immediately.
Davao Today reached out to Rep. Nograles for comments through her social media accounts but is still waiting for comment on this issue. Her Facebook account showed her attending activities in New York and Washington D.C. in the United States discussing matters such as protection against child trafficking. (davaotoday.com)
1987 constitution, davao city, duterte, Nograles, people's initiative, philippines
