Delete new charter provision allowing Duterte to run again
SEN. Aquilino Pimentel 3rd on Monday sought the scrapping of a provision in the draft Charter shifting to federalism that allows President Rodrigo Duterte to seek reelection.
This provision, according to Pimentel, overshadows the good intentions of Charter change.
Under the transitory provision in the draft Charter crafted by the Consultative Committee (ConCom), the President and other incumbent elected officials are eligible to seek reelection under the new Constitution shifting to a federal form of government from a parliamentary one.
“The envisioned reforms [under the proposed federal government] were not being discussed and instead we fight over whether he can run [for reelection] or not,” Pimentel said in an interview.
“So, since President Duterte is not really interested to stay a second longer than the term to which he was elected, let’s just delete that provision allowing the incumbent President to run again for President under the new Constitution,” he said.
Pimentel added, “In order to avoid the issue that this provision was solely focused on him [Duterte], let’s disqualify the incumbent President as well as all persons who held the position of President under 1987 Constitution shall be ineligible to run for President under the new Constitution.”
“So, that’s fair to all,” said Pimentel, president of the PDP-Laban (Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan) to which President Duterte belongs.
“We are not favoring the incumbent President but we are also not targeting the disqualification only of the incumbent President,” he added.
Meanwhile, Pimentel, an advocate of federalism, said he was encouraged by surveys that showed that over half of respondents were “supportive” of the adoption of federalism.
In a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) from March 23 to 27, 57 percent of respondents who stated that they had knowledge about federalism agreed with the adoption of a federal system of government, while only 22 percent did not support its adoption. Twenty percent were undecided. “I believe the numbers make it clear that those who know more about federalism are more likely to support its adoption,” Pimentel said.
“With the draft Constitution now finished, we can now have a real discussion about the proposed amendments to the Constitution, particularly the shift to federalism,” he added.
Pimentel said, “It is natural for many of our countrymen to fear what they do not understand, to resist change and the unknown.”
“Federalism is really different from what they are used to. But if they see that these changes will benefit them, then they will be more open to them,” he added.
In the same SWS survey, only one out of four respondents said they were knowledgeable about federalism.
Overall, 29 percent disagreed with the shift to federalism, a figure lower than the 37 percent who agreed with the proposed shift, as well as the 34 percent who were undecided about the issue.
Pimentel said that knowledge about federalism and its benefits was what fueled support for it in Mindanao, where 59 percent of those polled expressed support for the adoption of federalism, with only 16 percent opposed to the shift.
“This is an issue close to the heart of Mindanaonons. We have been discussing this for a long time. So, there is greater awareness of federalism and a greater recognition of what it can do to bring peace and stability to the region,” he added.
After submitting the draft Constitution to the President on Monday, Malacañang will be given the opportunity to review the document and give the ConCom its inputs while the ConCom conducts regional consultations.
Afer input from the Palace and the consultations are incorporated into the draft Constitution, the President is expected to endorse the document to Congress during his State of the Nation Address on July 23.
Up to 2022 only
President Duterte is inclined to accept any role in a transition government as long as his mandate will not require him to serve beyond 2022, Malacañang said on Monday.
“He (Duterte) is willing to serve in the transition capacity in that scenario, provided it is only until 2022,” Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. told reporters in a news conference.
Roque inisted that Duterte was not interested in extending his six-year term, disputing a scenario that he would stay in power until 2030 under the proposed new charter.
Roque also said Duterte would ask the Consultative Committee and Congress to insert a provision in the new constitution that would make it impossible for him to run for president again.