“Just do it!”
This was the “unsolicited advice” of Liberal Party’s vice president for external affairs to President Rodrigo Duterte after saying he was thinking of resigning as President.
“Let’s give the President the benefit of the doubt that this time, he meant what he said that he was thinking of stepping down because he is tired of chasing the corrupt in government. Our unsolicited advice: Just do it!” Erin Tañada said in a statement on Wednesday in reaction to Duterte’s latest pronouncement.
However, Duterte also said that he would only resign as the top leader of the country if the likes of former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. or Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero would be his successor.
“It is not up to the President, and especially not a junta, to decide who takes his place when he steps down. Our Constitution clearly provides that it should be the Vice President,” Tañada noted.
The former Quezon 4th District Representative asked, “Who at this point is still taking the President to his words, given that he threatens to resign at least once a month?
“Last July alone, he said that he will step down if God is proven to exist. Last June, he said that he will resign if enough women protest his controversial kiss. Even during the start of his term, he said he will resign if the Philippines is not rid of drugs and criminality after 3 to 6 months. It has been more than two years since, and criminality is still rampant in the streets,” he said.
Tañada added that Duterte’s repeated threat of resignation “denigrates the presidency and the mandate given by the voters.”
“The highest post in the land should not be treated like a club membership he can drop when he feels tired,” he lamented. /je
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