Rep. Precious Hipolito and Sen. Ping Lacson
If the President dies and then all of his constitutional successors are captured by terrorists, who will lead the country?
Legislation loosely based on a popular Netflix political thriller called the “Designated Survivor” have been filed in the Senate and the House of Representatives to deal with such a situation.
In the show, actor Kiefer Sutherland plays Housing and Urban Development Secretary Tom Kirkham, who is hidden away during the State of the Union. He was thrust into the US presidency when the Capitol building is bombed during the address, killing the president and everyone in it.
The Philippine proposal is called the Presidential Succession Act, referred to simply as the designated survivor bill.
Ping’s inspiration
Sen. Ping Lacson wrote the Senate version of the bill, while Quezon City Rep. Precious Hipolito introduced the House counterpart proposal.
Lacson told reporters on Thursday that his proposal was inspired by the Netflix series.
Hipolito wants to copy the US practice dating back to the Cold War era of keeping a designated successor in a secret location away from high-level gatherings to ensure succession.
At present, the successors to the President under the Constitution are the Vice President, Senate President and House Speaker.
Lacson said he filed the bill “because the Constitution’s provision is lacking.”
Most senior legislators
The proposals in the Senate and the House would allow the President to designate a senior member of the Cabinet who would take over if for any reason the constitutional successors could not step up to the presidency.
Lacson’s bill would ensure continuity and stability in governmental operations in case of a terrorist attack, major disaster or other “exceptional circumstances” where the President and the constitutional successors are killed or disabled.
Senate Bill No. 982 states that in case of death or permanent disability of those in the line of succession, those who would act as President, in the following order, are: the most senior senator, based on the length of service in the Senate; the most senior representative based on the length of service in the House; and the member of the Cabinet designated by the President.
The bill would task the President to select a Cabinet member who would be sequestered in a secret and secure location before any public or private activity, event or function with the attendance of the President, Vice President and ranking officials.
“In the event of an extraordinary circumstance resulting in the death or permanent disability of the President, Vice President and the officials mentioned … the designated member of the Cabinet shall act as President,” Lacson’s bill states.
This designated survivor will only serve as President if there are no more senators and representatives available, Lacson said.
He noted that during the President’s annual address to a joint session of Congress, all the constitutional successors are present in the legislative building in Quezon City.
Lacson joked that once the law is passed, many lawmakers might skip the event on the off chance that they could become acting President.
‘Unlikely chance’
He said he filed the bill to ensure that no vacancy would occur in the office of the President even in exceptional circumstances like death of the leader, resignation or incapacitation or removal from office.
Hipolito’s bill would authorize the President to designate a Cabinet member who would take over in the “unlikely chance” that all the constitutional successors “become unavailable to fill the role of President.”
In her explanatory note, Hipolito cited the US practice during the Cold War era of designating a successor who was kept in a secret place to ensure succession in the event the President and his constitutional successors were killed.
“The absence of a leader can lead to lawlessness and disorder and, worst, anarchy,” Hipolito said.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, the officer in charge during President Duterte’s five-day state visit to China, agreed that a designated survivor bill should be enacted into law.
“[The] Constitution in fact mandates the enactment of such a bill,” Guevarra said on Thursday, but declined to suggest who should be chosen as designated successor. —WITH REPORTS FROM PATRICIA DENISE M. CHIU, DONA Z. PAZZIBUGAN, JULIE M. AURELIO AND REUTERS