Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said today he did not consider as a “total setback” to the Charter change movement the Supreme Courts rejection of the Peoples Initiative in amending the Constitution.
In his weekly press conference in Malacanang this afternoon, Ermita said the High Tribunals decision left open other “legal procedures” to appeal the ruling.
That legal procedure, he added, is the filing of a motion for reconsideration in hopes that the High Court would “change its mind.”
“It (the decision of the SC) is not a total setback because first, there are still some legal procedures that can be followed. I was informed by the lawyers here at the Office of the President that there will be a motion for reconsideration (filed) after a copy of the SCs decision is received and read by the petitioners,” Ermita said.
The Malacanang official stressed that the government recognized the authority of the Supreme Court being the “highest court of the land” and that they would abide with its ruling on the Peoples Initiative petition.
“The President said we have to respect the rule of law. The highest court of the land has made a decision so theres no other recourse but to follow the decision of the SC,” Ermita said.
Voting 8-7, the Supreme Court, in a special en banc session today, junked the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) and Sigaw ng Bayans petition to amend the 1987 Constitution via the Peoples Initiative.
Those who voted for the petition were Justices Reynato Puno, Leonardo Quisumbing, Renato Corona, Dante Tinga, Cancio Garcia, Minita Chico-Nazario and Presbiterio Velasco Jr.
Voting against the petition were Justices Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez, Antonio Carpio, Romeo Callejo Sr., Ma. Alicia Martinez, Conchita Carpio-Morales and Adolfo Azcuna.
