By Filane Mikee Cervantes | Philippine News Agency
Filipino citizens will be able to participate in the legislative process by proposing and amending laws if a bill filed in the House of Representatives is passed into law.
House Bill (HB) No. 303 proposes the creation of a crowdsourcing platform that will offer “direct citizen participation in the lawmaking process,” its author, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr., said in a statement on Monday (April 14).
Under HB 303, the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) will be tasked to launch a crowdsourcing website where individuals or groups can submit proposed legislation.
If a proposal receives at least 300,000 verified signatures, it will be forwarded to the appropriate congressional committees for consideration.
“Through verified social media accounts, Filipinos can make legislative proposals that reflect their most pressing needs and concerns,” Villafuerte said.
The PLLO-hosted website will also allow users to initiate petitions to create, amend, review, or repeal laws.
Comments submitted through the portal would become part of the official legislative record, the bill states.
“This will be participatory democracy at its finest,” Villafuerte said, adding that similar digital initiatives are already in place in Brazil, Finland and Iceland.
“As our population is composed of individuals who are experts in their own fields, Filipinos can bring forward certain issues and concerns that require a timely response from our legislative and executive departments,” he said. (PNA)
