President Rodrigo Duterte will listen to the sentiment of the people over his vice presidential bid next year after a recent survey showed that six in 10 Filipinos think such a move violates the intention of the Constitution.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque hinted Duterte may still withdraw the Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance that he signed as the vice presidential candidate of a faction of the ruling party PDP-Laban.
“In the President’s opinion and other lawyers, including me, there is no provision in the Constitution that he will violate if he runs for vice president,” the Palace official said.
“But the President listens to the public pulse. Let’s wait for his final decision,” Roque added.
A recent survey by the polling firm Social Weather Stations asked the respondents to choose between two statements: First was that Duterte should run for Vice President in the 2022 election, because they would like his management of the government to continue. The second was that the proposal that Duterte should run for Vice President in the 2022 election violates the intention of the Constitution, which should first be amended before he may run for office again.
Sixty percent of the respondents chose the second statement, while 39 percent chose the first statement.
The remaining one percent did not give an answer.
The survey, conducted from June 23 to 26, used face-to-face interviews for 1,200 adults nationwide. The sampling error margins are ±3% for national percentages and ±6% for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
PDP-Laban secretary general Melvin Matibag, for his part, questioned the SWS survey result.
“We have seen the SWS survey and we feel that the questions are incomplete. The survey only asked the respondents if they view President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to run for Vice President as unconstitutional. To give a more accurate sentiment of our people, the survey should have also asked the obvious question: ‘If the Constitution allows President Duterte to run for Vice President, would you vote for him?’” Matibag said.
“It bears noting that two past Presidents, namely former President Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, were allowed to run for other public office after their respective terms as Chief Executive and they won,” he added.
Citing Section 4, Article 7 of the Constitution, Roque said it was “clear” that Duterte is only barred from seeking reelection.
“Still, President Duterte would consider the Filipino voters’ opinion. I could say that the President is sensitive to the pulse of the public. Let us just wait for his final decision,” Roque said.
“Anything is possible unless and until the certificate of candidacy is filed,” the Palace official added.