DU30 as VP: It does not violate Charter
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Secretary Salvador Panelo on Thursday insisted that President Rodrigo Duterte can run for vice president in the upcoming elections.
“The Constitution says under Article 7, Section 4 that the president has a term of six years and is not eligible for reelection. The President shall not be eligible for any re-election,” Panelo said in his daily online program “Counterpoint”.
He said that under the Constitution, it is clear that the president is allowed to run for any post except the presidency.
“I cannot understand this one, I will not name you, but he said it is not allowed since what is stated under the constitution is ‘any re-election.’ It refers to the re-election of the president not for any other election,” he added.
The statement was seen as a response to Senator Richard Gordon who said the PDP-Laban push for the president to run for vice president would violate the Constitution.
“It’s very clear that the President shall not be eligible, and this is an operative word, ‘any’ re-election,” Gordon told CNN Philippines in an interview.
“What kind of logic is that? That is nonsense, even a high school graduate can understand that. How will he control the new president? You are the head of state and the Commander-in-chief of all the forces in the Philippines,” he added.
The former Palace mouthpiece said Duterte was only given the liberty to choose his preferred running mate in the 2022 polls.