Robin revives Cha-cha for extension of terms

For president, Vice President, lawmakers

MANILA, Philippines — Another Charter change initiative has come to life – this time in the Senate – with focus on political provisions, specifically on term extension for elected officials, including the president and vice president.

In Resolution of Both Houses No. 5 he filed on Wednesday, Sen. Robinhood Padilla said he also wants to amend portions of Article VI or the Legislative Department in the 1987 Constitution to increase the number of senators to 54, of whom 24 would be nationally elected and the remaining 30 would be elected from legislative regions.

Padilla filed the resolution following Speaker Martin Romualdez’s declaration on Tuesday that the House would tackle Charter change next year but focusing on its economic provisions.

Padilla, in his resolution, also proposed extending senators’ term of office from the current six years to eight years for nationally elected ones (with allowable two terms in office), and four years for the regional senators (three consecutive terms).

Meanwhile, Padilla said the terms of office of members of the House of Representatives should be extended from the current three years to four years, and retaining the current allowable three consecutive terms.

In his amendments to Article VII or the Executive Department, Padilla proposed that presidents and vice presidents should be jointly elected and each given a term of four years eligible for reelection.

The country’s top two positions serve six years and are not allowed a second term under the current Constitution.

Also in the resolution, local elective officials – mayors and governors, but not barangay officials – should serve four years instead of three, with three consecutive terms, according to Padilla’s amendments to Article X on Local Government.

In seeking to extend the terms of office in government, Padila argued the “frequent turnover of elected officials” and “political instability” are among the “major impediments to long-term planning and policy continuity.”

He justified extending the terms of office because of the need to give elected officials “opportunity to effect long-term, meaningful changes” while in office.

Meanwhile, allowing the president and vice president to be elected as a tandem would pave the way for a “shift” from politics involving “individual personalities” to a “unified policy agenda,” Padilla said.

“The change in the term of office of the president and vice president will ensure a balance between leadership stability and democratic continuity,” Padilla said.

The action star turned senator from PDP-Laban, however, said his resolution sought to address the criticism that political dynasties would flourish if their terms in office were extended.

“It is imperative to strike a balance between the need for policy continuity, which requires adequate time for lawmakers to fulfill their legislative agenda, and the need to prevent the accumulation of power, which may lead to political entrenchment,” Padilla said in his resolution.

To ensure smooth turnover of power because of the revised term limits, Padilla proposed the following transitory provisions in the Constitution: the incumbent and former presidents should not be allowed to run again; incumbent senators and representatives, as well as local elective officials on their last terms of office prior to the amendments, should not be qualified for reelection in the next immediate polls; and the first elections in the new Constitution should be held on the second Monday of May 2028 and synchronized for all elected officials.

In justifying the need to synchronize the elections, Padilla said “there is a need to align the terms of elective office across the executive and legislative branches” and “to synchronize the electoral cycles of the different branches of government to improve administrative efficiency and enable a more coordinated implementation of government policies.”

Padilla, however, disagreed with the proposal in the House that Congress should jointly vote in amending the Charter by constituent assembly, which has the effect of the lower House overwhelming the 24-member Senate body in terms of voting power.

Padilla said the Senate and the House of Representatives should vote separately to propose amendments to the Constitution.

He earlier led the Senate moves to propose amendments to the Constitution but by focusing on the economic restrictions on foreign investments.

But the report drafted by the Senate constitutional amendments committee he chairs did not garner enough support from Padilla’s peers, slowing down the momentum the Charter change initiative gained in the lower House..