Federal shift could extend Duterte’s term – expert

President Duterte could extend his term until 2025 under the proposed federal parliamentary government, according to head of a Centrist Democratic Party (CDP) of the Philippines.

Lito Lorenzana, chair of the CDP and president of the Centrist Democracy Political Institute, proposed the term extension for Duterte during the transition period from the unitary presidential system, citing his ”political will” to implement federalism.

Under the CDP proposal, Lorenzana said changes to the Constitution, particularly the shift to federal-parliamentary government, must be introduced next month, followed by a plebiscite by February 2019.

He said the parliamentary elections will then be conducted not later than May 2020 “to organize the first unicameral parliament under the newly ratified Constitution with a term of five years up to 2025.”

“Then the incumbent President Duterte, now in a parliamentary form of government in 2022, shall continue – this is very important – shall continue his dual presidential role as head of state and at the same time as head of government leading and presiding over the new unicameral parliament,” he said.

Lorenzana said President Duterte may also step down by May 2022 to pave the way for his successor elected by the parliament. “Or if the people want or then you put that – you provide that in the transitory provisions of the new Constitution that he will still serve up to that year, okay. This is a choice of the people,” he said.

Duterte, who scored a landslide victory in the 2016 presidential polls, has a six-year term until 2022. Under the Constitution, the President may only serve for one term and is ineligible for reelection.

Lorenzana defended the possible term extension of Duterte to ensure the smooth transition.

“The point is that 40 years we have only one President who says that, 'We need to shift to federal system of government,” he said.

He said the federalism proposal was proposed during the terms of former President Joseph Estrada and Gloria Arroyo but “we all failed.”

“That’s why we said, we suggest it so that can be put in the transitory provision. Sabagay, it’s only ilang years lang ‘yan (It’s only a few yars” from 2022 man lang eh when he is supposed to step down to 2022 to 2025,” he said. Federal model Lorenzana previously served as secretary general of the 2005 consultative commission assigned by then President Arroyo to study and draft changes to the Charter.

In the proposed federalism model, Lorenzana said executive and legislative branches would be fused into a unicameral parliament.

The head of the government will be a Prime Minister with his Cabinet recruited as members of parliament. “The Prime Minister or the head of government can be booted out of office through a vote of no confidence, not the process of impeachment,” Lorenzana said.

The President, on the other hand, will be the head of state and commander-in-chief of all armed forces. He will be elected from the parliament members.

4 preconditions Lorenzana, meantime, proposed four preconditions to federalism, including reforms in the political party system as well as ban on political dynasty.

He pushed for the passage of the political party development bill, that will penalize turncoatism and enforce transparent mechanism on campaign financing.

“We need real parties, not the type we have today or have had in the past several decades,” he said.

“Political parties are primarily formed not only to contest elections and to grab and hold power in government, but they must possess an ideological core aggregating the needs and aspirations of diverse segment of our society, differentiating each from the other to give the people a chance to choose what they want,” he said.

Lorenzana also said the law banning political dynasties must also be passed as mandated by the Constitution.

“If Congress will not again pass an enabling law, because 80 to 90 percent of Congress are members of dynasty, then what should be written in the revised Constitution should be banning the dynasty – should be selfexecutory,” he said.

Another condition is the passage of a “real all-encompassing” Freedom of Information law to enforce transparency in government transactions. “This law will allow public access to information pertaining to official acts, transactions or decisions and compel transparency and accountability in public service,” Lorenzana said.

The fourth and last condition is the implementation of electoral reforms “that will not pervert the will of the populace,” according to Lorenzana.

“The Comelec (Commission on Elections) must be reformed to remove all quasi-judicial work and transfer electoral contests and protests to the judiciary,’ he said.

Lorenzana said the CDP proposals on federalism will be transmitted to the Palaceformed consultative commission that will study and recommended amendments to the Charter.