House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano. INQUIRER.net file photo
MANILA, Philippines — As talks of constitutional change emerge anew, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said Monday that it is term limits for elected officials that created political dynasties.
Cayetano made the remark after Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, who chairs the House committee on constitutional amendments, announced that his panel will convene after President Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) to tackle the changes inthe Constitution as proposed by over 1,400 mayors in the country.
“Sasabihin nila, mga mayor natin, panay pulitika. E three years yung term eh. In the middle of the [year] kang mae-elect… Worldwide, mga 4 to 5 years ang term e para nakaka-pagplanning, nakakapagtrabaho,” Cayetano said in a press briefing.
(They would say that our mayors are focused on politics. But their term is only three years and they were elected in the middle of the year. In other countries, the term is four to five years so they could plan and work.)
“Yun kayang CEO sa kumpanya, sabihin kaya natin sa kanila three-year lang ang term mo at yung una mong taon sa gitna ng fiscal year and then sa last year mo, nangangampanya ka, tingin niyo mapapatakbo ng maganda yung mga kumpanya?” he added.
(What if we tell our CEOs in companies that their term is only three years and their first year falls in the middle of the fiscal year and then the last year you will campaign, do you think they could run the company well?)
Cayetano then delved on the aspect of political dynasties, a highly controversial issue attached to constitutional change.
The House Speaker said term limits created a political dynasty and even cited the Cayetanos in Taguig City as an example.
Currently, Cayetano serves as Taguig City-Pateros 1st District representative while his wife, Maria Laarni, serves as the representative of the second district.
Meanwhile, Cayetano’s brother, Lino, serves as the mayor of Taguig City.
“Sabi nila, ayaw na nila ng dynasty. Ang nag-create ng dynasty is the term limits (They say they no longer want dynasties. Term limits created dynasties),” Cayetano said.
Further, the House Speaker said that the Cayetanos did not intend to occupy the three highest positions in the city, however, he pointed out the issue of “bitter political rivalries.”
“Di ninais ng mga Cayetano na tatlo sa mataas na position, Cayetano. Ang problema noon mayroong bitter political rivalry, dumating ako sa punto na binu-bulldozer nung mayor namin, na hindi ko kasama, ang mga project na ginagawa ko at ginagawa ng DPWH,” Cayetano said.
(The Cayetanos did not intend to occupy the three highest positions in the city. The problem before is there was a bitter political rivalry that there came a time when our mayor who I was not with was bulldozing our projects with DPWH.)
In the same press briefing, Cayetano said that there is “no doubt” that amending the Constitution is needed, but the question is its timing.
Cayetano said he does not see the possibility of holding a plebiscite especially as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic and health protocols are being implemented such as social distancing.
For now, Cayetano assured that “we only want Constitutional change if the people want it and want it very badly.”
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) earlier said that members of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) had passed a resolution seeking amendments to the Constitution.
The resolution contains the mayors’ proposed amendments which include the institutionalization of the Mandanas ruling of the Supreme Court in the Constitution and the lifting of restrictions on foreign investment in industries currently limited to Filipinos.
On Monday morning, Rodriguez said that the meeting on the mayors’ proposal could happen within the first two weeks of Congress’ second regular session.
The second regular session will begin on the morning of July 27, with the afternoon dedicated for Duterte’s Sona.