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Initiative and referendum
The document outlines the process and procedures for local initiative and referendum according to the 1991 Local Government Code of the Philippines, including requirements for signatures, timelines, and limitations. It defines local initiative as allowing registered voters to directly propose or amend ordinances, while local referendum allows them to approve or reject ordinances passed by local legislatures. The key difference between initiative and referendum is that initiative allows voters to enact new legislation while referendum allows voters to approve or reject existing proposed laws.
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Initiative and referendum
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- 2. • Article 5of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, Section 1 states that, “suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines…” Article VI. The Legislative Department • Section 1. “The Legislative Power is vested in the Congress of the Philippines which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives, except to the extent reserved to the people by the provision of initiative and referendum (Philippine 1987 Constitution).” • The general initiative and referendum were first adopted in the United States in South Dakota in 1898.
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- 4. Local Initiative -the legal process whereby the registered voters of a local government unit may directly propose, enact, or amend any ordinance. Local referendum - the legal process whereby the registered voters of the local government units may approve or reject any ordinance enacted by the Sanggunian..
- 5. Who May Exercise? The power of local initiative and referendum may be exercised by all registered voters of the provinces, cities, municipaliti es,and Barangays. Procedure in Local Initiative Local Government Unit Number of registered voters a) Provinces and Cities 1000 Municipalities (towns) 100 Barangays 50
- 6. (b) If nofavorable action thereon is taken by the Sanggunian concerned within thirty (30) days from its presentation, the proponents, through their duly authorized and registered representatives, may invoke their power of initiative, giving notice thereof to the Sanggunian concerned. (c) The proposition shall be numbered serially starting from Roman numeral I. The Comelec or its designated representative shall extend assistance in the formulation of the proposition. (d) Two (2) or more propositions may be submitted in an initiative. (e) Proponents shall have ninety (90) days in case of provinces and cities, sixty (60) days in case of municipalities, and thirty (30) days in case of Barangays, from notice mentioned in subsection (b) hereof to collect the required number of signatures.
- 7. (f) The petitionshall be signed before the election registrar, or his designated representatives, in the presence of a representative of the proponent, and a representative of the Sanggunian concerned in a public place in the local government unit, as the case may be. Stations for collecting signatures may be established in as many places as may be warranted. (g) Upon the lapse of the period herein provided, the Comelec, through its office in the local government unit concerned, shall certify as to whether or not the required number of signatures has been obtained. Failure to obtain the required number defeats the proposition.
- 8. (h) If therequired number of signatures is obtained, the Comelec shall then set a date for the initiative during which the proposition shall be submitted to the registered voters in the local government unit concerned for their approval within sixty (60) days from the date of certification by the Comelec, as provided in subsection (g) hereof, in case of provinces and cities, forty-five (45) days in case of municipalities, and thirty (30) days in case of Barangays. The initiative shall then be held on the date set, after which the results thereof shall be certified and proclaimed by the Comelec.
- 9. Effectivity of LocalPropositions If the proposition is approved by a majority of the votes cast, it shall take effect fifteen (15) days after certification by the Comelec as if affirmative action thereon had been made by the Sanggunian and local chief executive concerned. If it fails to obtain said number of votes, the proposition is considered defeated.
- 10. Limitations on LocalInitiatives (a) The power of local initiative shall not be exercised more than once a year. (b) Initiative shall extend only to subjects or matters which are within the legal powers of the Sanggunians to enact. c) If at any time before the initiative is held, the Sanggunian concerned adopts in to the proposition presented and the local chief executive approves the same, the initiative shall be canceled. However, those against such action may, if they so desire, apply for initiative in the manner herein provided.
- 11. Limitations upon Sanggunians Any proposition or ordinance approved through the system of initiative and referendum as herein provided shall not be repealed, modified or amended by the Sanggunian concerned within six (6) months from the date of the approval thereof, and may be amended, modified or repealed by the Sanggunian within three (3) years thereafter by a vote of three-fourths (3/4) of all its members: Provided, That in case of Barangays, the period shall be eighteen (18) months after the approval thereof.
- 12. Authority of Courts (Chapter II, LGC of 1991) Nothing in this Chapter shall prevent or preclude the proper courts from declaring null and void any proposition approved pursuant to this Chapter for violation of the Constitution or want of capacity of the Sanggunian concerned to enact the said measure.
- 13. What is thedifference between Initiative and Referendum? • Both initiative and referendum are powers given to the voters to accept or reject a piece of legislation, though initiative allows people to get the government to do what it should have and did not, while referendum give people the power to get the government “not” to do what they wanted to do. • Initiative starts with votes, whereas legislative referendum initiates from the legislature and goes to the public, to approve or reject the proposed legislation.
Editor's Notes
- #2 According to Abraham Lincoln, he best described democracy as the "government of the people, by the people, and for the people." For that government to be "by the people," however, requires that the people decide who shall be their leaders. Without free and fair elections, there can be no democratic society, and without that constant accountability of government officials to the electorate, there can, in fact, be no assurance of any other rights. The right to vote, therefore, is not only an important individual liberty; it is also a foundation stone of free government.
- #3 Since the Republic of the Philippines is a democratic country, its people exercise the right to vote. As embedded in the Article 5 of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, Section 1 states that, “suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines…” and suffrage as has been defined is “not a natural right of the citizen but merely a privilege to be given or withheld by the lawmaking power subject to limitations”. Suffrage then includes initiative and referendum.The general initiative and referendum were first adopted in the United States in South Dakota in 1898, and many states soon followed. The movement toward direct legislation did not grow from a desire of the people to exercise the legislative function directly. Rather, many people distrusted their legislative bodies, believing that large corporations and powerful groups of individuals were corrupting legislation. The power of referendum made most legislation subject to the will of the people.
- #5 INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM Initiative – the power of the people to propose amendment to the constitution or to propose and enact legislations (national or local legislations) through an election called for that purpose Referendum – the power of the electorate to approve or reject legislation through an election called for that purpose.
- #6 (a) Not less than one thousand (1,000) registered voters in case of provinces and cities, one hundred (100) in case of municipalities, and fifty (50) in case of Barangays, may file a petition with the Sanggunian concerned proposing the adoption, enactment, repeal, or amendment of an ordinance.
- #14 The referendum power is created by state constitutions and is conferred on the citizens of a state or a local subdivision of the state. Referendum provides the people with a means of expressing their opinion on proposed legislation before it becomes operative as a law. The power of referendum does not permit the people to invalidate a law that is already operative but suspends or annuls a law that has not yet gone into effect. The referendum along with the initiative, are the two forms of direct legislation adopted by many states during the direct democracy movement of the early twentieth century. Referendum allows the people to state their opinion on laws that have been enacted by the legislature, and the initiative allows the people to propose their own laws. Thus, in the states that have adopted the initiative and referendum, the people essentially form another branch of the legislature, having the ability both to enact laws and to overturn laws passed by the elected legislature but not yet in effect. An initiative or a referendum passed by the people has the same force and effect as any act of the legislature. A referendum may be challenged on constitutional grounds; on grounds that proper procedures were not followed in the referendum process and election, or on grounds that the referendum or initiative was outside the scope of authority granted by the state constitution.