Palce says removal of VP under federalism beyond its control

THE possible abolition of the Office of the Vice President under the proposed federal state is “beyond the control” of Malacañang, a Palace official said on Monday, January 15.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said the possible removal of the vice president, the second highest position in the country, under a federal form of government will eventually be decided upon by the Filipino people.

“There's talk about abolition of vice president under charter change. That's beyond the control of the Palace. As you know, it is Congress sitting as a constituent assembly that will propose amendments,” Roque said in a press conference.

“However, I'm sure that because any proposed amendments to the Constitution will be subject to ratification by the people, that ultimately, it is the people who will judge this matter,” he added.

Roque's statement came a day after Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares claimed that there was a proposal to abolish the Office of the Vice President under the draft charter change submitted by President Rodrigo Duterte's

party, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).

Colmenares alleged that by 2019, Vice President Leni Robredo will be ousted once the proposed constitution is ratified in a plebiscite.

He noted that Section 7, Article 7 of the PDP-Laban’s proposal does not mention the Vice President in the line of succession, saying that only the Senate President and House Speaker can succeed Duterte, in case of death or removal from office.

“Under the PDP-Laban’s (proposed) Constitution, the Office of the Vice President will be abolished by 2019 if they succeed in having the new Constitution ratified during the 2019 elections,” Colmenares said.

“Vice President Leni Robredo will be ousted from her office long before her term ends in 2022,” he added.

Robredo’s legal adviser, Barry Gutierrez, slammed on Sunday, January 14, the alleged proposal to abolish her office.

Gutierrez stressed that the Vice President’s office has been existing for 80 years, and the only time it was dissolved was during the dictatorship of the late president Ferdinand Marcos.

“The question therefore is, how does abolishing the OVP relate to the establishment of federalism? Or is the abolition already in service of some other, unstated, agenda?” he said in a statement. SunStar Philippines