Senator Imee Marcos on Wednesday, January 10, said she received an anonymous message offering to pay her P20 million in exchange for 20,000 signatures to petition for charter change or cha-cha.
Interviewed during DZRH Damdaming Bayan, Marcos said the sender demanded them to send 20,000 signatures per district by Saturday, January 13.
“Nakatanggap ako. Pinadala ba naman sa akin na aalukan ako P20 million total kapag nakapag-produce kami, sa atin ng 20,000 signatures by January 13,” the Senator said.
“Ang ibibigay, P20 million, may AICS mula sa DSWD, MAIP sa DOH, TUPAD sa DOLE. Ayun ang bribery scandal. Sabi ko, hindi naman binebenta ang Constitution. Pambihira kayo,” she added.
Senator Imee Marcos, Chairperson, Committee on Economic Affairs & Committee on Electoral Reforms sa nangyaring blackout sa Panay: Sa totoo lang, ang NGCP ang dapat magpaliwanag diyan.#DamdamingBayan#SamaSamaTayoPilipino
— DZRH NEWS (@dzrhnews) January 10, 2024
LIVE: https://t.co/3RFIvTXxBv pic.twitter.com/RGOhGlbZvP
Of the 20 million, P5 million would allegedly come from the social welfare department, P10 million from the health department, and P5 million from the labor department.
“Naka-chop doon ang tatlong ahensya, tapos yun ay ibibigay basta mag-produce ng 20,000 signatures kada bawat distrito kasi ayun ang nasa constitution natin eh, para sa people’s initiative, 3 percent of the voters every district,” she said.
The bribe was also allegedly offered to congressmen in big cities in some regions.
Marcos stressed she would be the last person to rally behind the proposal to amend the Philippine Constitution.
“Sabi ko nga, kung charter change, ako ang huling magtatanggol sa Cory Aquino constitution kasi maraming provision diyan na kontra sa Marcos pero kahit gano’n, noong nag-usap kami ng Presidente, ni Bongbong, noong hindi pa siya nanalo, hindi pa siya tumakbo. Nagkaisa kami na talagang huwag munang pakialaman muna iyan dahil gapang pa tayo. Hindi pa nakakabangon matapos ang COVID,” the Senator said.
The paid campaign was first raised by Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman in a press statement posted on his Facebook account on January 7.
According to Lagman, municipal mayors in Albay received funds to buy the signatures of their constituents for the people’s initiative campaign pushing for charter change.
Each individual was said to be paid P100 for his or her signature.
“The initial purpose of this charter change by people’s initiative is to make the voting in the constituent assembly (Con-Ass) of representatives and senators or in calling for a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con)as joint voting in order to overwhelm by superiority of numbers the Senators by the Representatives,” the Albay congressman explained.
He alleged that it was former Ako Bicol Party-List Rep. Pido Garbin who released the money to the municipal mayors.
“Former Ako Bicol Party-List Congressman Pido Garbin is expected to deny that the various municipal mayors present during the meeting in the afternoon of 05 January 2024 at Ellis Hotel in Legazpi City received from Ako Bicol coordinators 50% of the total amount of P100/voter constituting 3% of the total voters per municipality compromising their legislative districts,” Lagman said.
In an X post on January 9, Bayan Muna chairperson Neri Colmenares exposed that they “monitored efforts to gather signatures for Charter Change” in some barangays in Rizal, Quezon City, Valenzuela, and Tarlac.
He added that signature gathering coincided with “distribution of aid [and] gifts.”
During the holiday season, @BayanMuna has monitored efforts to gather signatures for Charter Change, some coinciding with distribution of aid & gifts:
— Neri Colmenares (@ColmenaresPH) January 9, 2024
1. Brgy. Silangan, San Mateo, Rizal - collected signatures from Christmas to New Year, along with "gifts" of 5kg rice each ...(1) https://t.co/xK0g3PMNV7 pic.twitter.com/yZdqPY1u89
