Sotto shoots down talk of Duterte reelection under federal system

Senate President Vicente Sotto III dismissed concerns over statements that President Duterte would be allowed to seek reelection and hold office until 2030 under the proposed federal charter.

In a radio interview Saturday, Sotto maintained that nothing is final yet with regards to the draft constitution approved by Duterte’s Consultative Committee (Con-Com) for the planned shift to a federal government, especially the reports that the President will be allowed to seek a fresh term under the new political system.

He reiterated that Congress would still have to look into the proposed charter.

“Maaring sabihin na proposal ay forever na yung mga government officials – madaling sabihin lahat ‘yon, i-propose ‘yon – pero as of now, everything starts as a proposal (The proposal may state that local officials can stay forever in office – that’s easy to say and propose – but as of now, everything starts as a proposal),” Sotto told DWIZ.

“So huwag agad silang mangamba, na ito na... Hindi dapat sila kabahan dun, nandiyan naman ang Kongreso, pag-aaralan pa po namin ‘yon (They should not worry that this is final. They should not worry about the reported term extension. We, in Congress, will review this),” he added.

Sotto noted that senators are also not worried over the alleged term extension for the President since they have yet to receive a copy of the draft constitution. The Con-Com earlier said that it will submit its proposal to President Duterte on July 9.

Sotto believes that Duterte will not cling on to his position until 2030, citing the Chief Executive’s repeated pronouncements of resigning.

President Duterte, in his speech Friday night, told the ConCom to include a provision in its proposal that will require him to step down before the transition to a federal government. He said he will forward this for Congress’ approval.