Philippine needs President, Vice President elected in tandem

MANILA,Philippines — The country’s president and vice president should be elected in tandem, just like in the US.

Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza yesterday proposed this reform in the election system, to address what he considered to be the “counterproductive” election of two top government officials coming from opposing political parties.

“Our current set up wherein the president and the vice president may belong to different political parties is really problematic, counterproductive and highly impractical,” the former three-term mayor of Manila said.

“We should adopt the American system wherein the president and the vice president are elected together as one ticket belonging to the same party,” he suggested.

Atienza made the proposal following yet another issue between President Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo.

Duterte appointed Robredo as co-chair of the Inter-agency Committee on Anti-illegal Drugs, but said he could not appoint her to the Cabinet.

The President said he still distrusts Robredo as she might compromise sensitive information obtained during Cabinet meetings.

“A vice president without a Cabinet portfolio and who has no other meaningful function tends to end up as a mere kibitzer,” Atienza lamented.

If and when given the opportunity, Atienza said he would push for amendments to the 1987 Constitution so that the president and the vice president would be elected jointly, rather than separately.

“The same rule should also apply to governors and vice governors as well as mayors and vice mayors. They too should be elected in tandem and have the same party affiliation all the time,” Atienza said.

He explained that the vice president in America is also an officer in the legislative branch who presides over the 100-member US Senate.