MANILA — The signature campaign to amend the 1987 Constitution and have Congress vote jointly when convened as a constituent assembly is meant to resolve a consistent roadblock to charter change, one of its supporters said.

Article XVII of the 1987 Constitution allows Congress to propose amendments and revisions “upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Members” but has sparked debate on whether the Senate and the House of Representatives should vote jointly or separately on proposed amendments.

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“Ito yung palaging nagiging rason upang hindi maituloy ang kailangan na amendment,” former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr. said on TeleRadyo Serbisyo on Saturday.

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Garbin, who said he has also signed the petition for a people’s initiative to amend the constitution, said there is “consensus in the House of Representatives” that charter change is needed to relax economic provisions and allow more foreign investments in.

There has been more resistance to charter change at the Senate, which would be outnumbered if the chambers of Congress vote together.

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Garbin said that the “infirmity and ambiguity on how the constituent assembly will vote” has left opposing sides on the debate “irreconcilable in their positions.”

He said: “And that’s why ang taumbayan na mismo ang sumulong nito at ilagay na mismo sa Constitution.”

Garbin said the current petition takes into consideration the 2006 Supreme Court decision on Lambino v. Comelec, which found that the signature campaign was invalid because it was not clear that voters who signed knew what they were actually supporting.

He said the proposed amendment is included in the signature sheets and that voters are given a “short lecture” on the proposed amendment before they are asked to sign.

Garbin said there is no money involved in the gathering of signatures.

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LAGMAN: THIS IS 'CONGRESSIONAL INITIATIVE'

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Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, who flagged the signature campaign and who claimed that signatories were to get P100 each for supporting it, said in a separate interview insisted that the campaign is flawed.

"Ang tawag ko nga rito, imbis na people's initiative ay congressional initiative sapagkat ang nasa sa likod ng pagpapa-pirma ay mga members of the House at ginagamit lamang yung mga municipal mayors at local officials," he said.

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Lagman said that he has spoken to three mayors in his province who may soon come out to support his claim that there is money involved in the signature campaign.

He said the mayors may officially make a statement about it this month.

He said he does not plan to call for hearings at the House on the issue since House leadership is also pushing for charter change but that the Commission on Elections or the courts remain options.

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Lagman said that the people's initiative will likely face delays when brought to the Supreme Court, which could be asked to revisit the decision on Santiago v. Comelec that Republic Act No. 6735, or the Initiative and Referendum Act, is insufficient for constitutional amendments.

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The Supreme Court, in that case, found the law "inadequate to cover the system of initiative on amendments to the Constitution, and to have failed to provide sufficient standard for subordinate legislation."