Duterte shuns power, Palace insists, as Cha-cha consultative body pushes term limits

MANILA, Philippines — A spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday stressed that the Philippine leader did not have any intention of staying longer than his constitutionally-provided term, a day after the head of a consultative panel on constitutional amendments shut the door on this possibility.

 

Former Chief Justice Reynato Puno, the head of the consultative committee on a new charter, said Monday that Duterte would not be allowed to run for another term once he steps down in 2022. 

 

He underscored that the term limits under the current 1987 Constitution would continue to be observed and noted that a ban on succession had already been agreed upon. 

 

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque reiterated that Duterte had no intention of staying a minute longer than his term, which ends in 2022.

 

“The president has even stated that he would step down from the presidency earlier, should the Philippines shift to a federal system of government as early as 2020,” Roque said. 

 

A shift to a federal form of government has been one of the major campaign promises of the tough-talking Duterte as he believed that this would address the unequal development between Manila and the provinces.

 

However, efforts at amending or changing the Constitution have hit several issues.

 

Some critics are questioning if amending the charter would really help cure economic and political issues hampering the country’s development.

 

There is also a disagreement over the mode of amending the charter, with Duterte’s allies in the House pushing for a constituent assembly while others, including some in the Senate, are campaigning for a constitutional convention.

 

Members of the House are also insisting on joint voting in the event of a constituent assembly, something that the numerically inferior Senate will not countenance. 

 

Roque’s statement is an echo of Duterte’s comments on the issue in which he expressed readiness to step down from office, even ahead of his term expiration.

 

Critics, however, have not been placated by these reassurances, especially as some of the chief executive’s allies have been floating the possibility of term extension and a revolutionary government.

 

Under the 1987 Constitution, enacted just after a military-backed uprising ousted the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, a president can have only one six-year term.