An expert on Philippine Constitution has warned the public that the federal charter might allow President Rodrigo Duterte to run again in the 2022 elections, three days after the draft was unanimously approved by the consultative committee.
Lawyer Christian Monsod, a member of the commission that drafted the 1986 Constitution, said the document approved by the committee prohibits the term extension of the sitting president and vice president but not their candidacy under the new Constitution.
“If he wants to stay in power beyond 2022, the only legal way to do it is by charter change,” Monsod said during a policy forum in Pasig City, saying that he received parts of the draft from two reliable sources.
Monsod added that the term extension of Duterte could also be done through the suspension of 2022 elections if the transition process takes longer than expected.
He also noted that Duterte could change the rules for reelection for those who would be banned from staying in power, including himself.
Retired Chief Justice Reynato Puno, chairman of the committee, previously dismissed speculations the proposed charter would allow President Duterte to rule the country indefinitely, saying the 22-member ConCom acted independently.
The committee, formed through an executive order, would present the draft to the President on July 9 before the 78-page document is to be made available to the media.
Monsod urged the public to do a thorough and objective study of the ConCom’s recommendations as well as the moves of the Congress in the weeks ahead.
Meanwhile, an opposition congressman assailed the “belated efforts” to push for federalism in light of regional consultations on the “Federal Constitution.”
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said the Consultative Committee which reviewed the 1987 Constitution and unanimously approved the draft of the “Federal Constitution” for submission to the President on or before July 9, 2018 is belatedly holding regional consultations, through the Department of the Interior and Local Government, on the proposed new charter, like in the Bicol Region in Legazpi City on July 6, 2018.
“This patently places the cart before the horse because the approval of the ‘Federal Charter’ by the Consultative Committee is a fait accompli and there is no more time to deliberate on and incorporate regional inputs before the draft of the “Federal Constitution” is submitted to the President in a couple of days,” Lagman said.
“This consultation is overtly designed to secure, if not coerce, popular anointment of the Consultative Committee’s handiwork which was approved without the benefit of prior extensive local consultations,” he added.
Lagman said the DILG advisory directs that “all Mayors, Vice Mayors, and PCL Presidents are enjoined to attend the said activity. Likewise, all LGUs are enjoined to print and display a sign of their support for the Regional Consultations and the conduct of the Federalism Convention within their respective areas of jurisdiction. Electronic file for the design of the tarpaulins will be sent to all LGUs thru the Cluster Heads and C/MLGOOs. Samples of the tarpaulin are hereto attached for reference.”
Aside from Lagman, some legislators said there is no assurance that Congress will adopt and approve the recommendations made by the Con-Com.
At the House of Representatives, for instance, congressmen have their own version of the proposed Charter that will replace the 1987 Constitution.
Reps. Benitez of Negros Occidental, for his part, said that the Con-Com recommendation is the most practical and efficient structure [that Congress] can adopt.
“It does not disrupt our existing system while meeting the objective of federalism,” he said.
But opposition Rep. Tom Villarin was doubtful over the proposed amendments to the Charter, saying “it is a draft that the public has not seen nor 75 percent of Filipinos know about while the remaining 25 percent are neutral about federalism.”
“It is a proposal that is good for academic studies than touching on the real problems of poverty, inequality, unemployment and lack of livelihoods. It’s a document approved by unelected and biased appointees of President Duterte who would ensure that he will perpetuate himself in power through Charter Change,” Villarin said.
Meanwhile, Lagman said copies of the draft “Federal Constitution” have not been distributed and circulated to enable local officials to formulate their analytical comments even as they are ordered to bring their respective delegations to support the “Federalism Convention.”
Economic data show that only three regions—Metro Manila, Calabarzon (Region IV-A) and Region 3—are financially capable of becoming viable federal states, and the rest of the regions proposed by the Consultative Committee to constitute the Federal Republic are not fiscally or budgetarily self-reliant or autonomous, including the Bicol Region, Lagman said.