Consultative committee: Term extension not Charter change agenda

MANILA, Philippines — The consultative committee (Concom) of President Duterte has assured critics of Charter change that term extension is not the agenda in their review of the 1987 Constitution for the shift to federalism.  

Former chief justice Reynato Puno, chairman of the Concom, said yesterday term extension is not in their agenda and there are no “professional politicians” in the committee.

Critics of Charter change said that Duterte’s motive in pushing for a federal form of government is to extend the term of sitting politicians who are mostly his allies.

Puno said he was not sure if term extension and cancellation of elections are part of Duterte’s agenda in shifting to federalism.

The President has been saying he is ready to step down once the federal government is formed and he had told the military to shoot him if he extends his term even for just one day.

Last week, the Concom voted for a presidential form of federal setup as proposed by former senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., which means that the country will still be run by a president. 

Under Pimentel’s proposal, the country would still have a president and vice-president who will be elected nationally, while senators and other local positions will be elected in the federal states.  

Reacting to critics that the presidential form of federal setup will no longer elect a vice president, Pimentel said it would not happen because the VP will still be included in the new federal system. 

“My proposal still includes the vice president. What happened was that the commission voted for the federal system in a presidential form,” Pimentel said.

He said his proposal is not yet final, which means that the Concom members will still have to study this during their meeting on March 15. 

After choosing the presidential form of federal system, Puno said they would scrutinize the executive powers provided under the 1935 and 1987 Constitutions, which were practiced by former administrations. 

“We have seen the deficiencies and we will remedy this. We have to adjust the executive power because now certain parts of this power will be given to constituent units in various regions,” he said. 

The Concom is eyeing to finish their recommendations by the last week of June or early July so Duterte can study and present these in his next State of the Nation Address.