The Diocese of Dumaguete collected signatures of registered voters in Negros Oriental and Siquijor beyond the required number for a People’s Initiative against all forms of pork barrel funds.
Dumaguete Bishop Julito Cortes led a team of priests and deacons in the turnover of the signature sheets to Provincial Elections Supervisor Eddie Aba of the Commission on Elections in Negros Oriental, Friday.
The number of signatures gathered from Negros Oriental and Siquijor exceeded the requisite three percent of the total number of registered voters of each district, Cortes said.
Only the parishes in the towns of Manjuyod, Bindoy, Tayasan, and Jimalalud are covered by the Diocese of Dumaguete.
The law mandates that each district must gather at least three percent of the total number of registered voters for a People’s Initiative.
Cortes said the Diocese of Dumaguete has already submitted its signature sheets, but he believes the number will still rise as he has coordinated with Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of the San Carlos Diocese for signatures from northern Negros Oriental.
Cortes said the Catholic Church is serious about this campaign against the pork barrel system.
The Diocese of Dumaguete will have a political education program in preparation for the 2016 polls, he said.
Meanwhile, Fr. Burton Villarmente, director of the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Dumaguete, said he will make a follow up with the other churches, such as the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, for their respective signatures in support of the anti-pork initiative.
Aba said he will consult with another lawyer, Rafael Orillana, on the processes for the verification of the signatures and similar concerns before the signature sheets are forwarded to the Comelec Central Office in Manila.
He assured that, despite hectic schedules with the coming 2016 elections, the Comelec will accommodate the campaign for a People’s Initiative against the pork barrel funds.
Cortes was accompanied by Frs. Villarmente and Carmelito Limbaga Jr., Revs. Ryan Jay Deposoy and Romolito Zerna, and seminarian Conrad Lagarde.
