A president can run for VP, be president again as successor if necessary – Guevarra

FILE – Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines—A president can run for vice president and again become president should circumstances arise, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Tuesday.

“There is nothing in the wording of our present constitution that prohibits the sitting president from running for the position of vice president,” Guevarra said, responding to a question on President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to accept the nomination of PDP-Laban to run for vice president.

“What the Constitution expressly prohibits is for him to be reelected and when we speak of reelection, we are talking about the same position as what he is currently holding,” Guevarra said during the virtual meeting of Rotary Club of Makati, Cebu, and Davao.

Guevarra was referring to Article VII, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution, which partly provides that “The President shall not be eligible for any reelection. No person who has succeeded as President and has served as such for more than four years shall be qualified for election to the same office at any time.”

Earlier this month, Duterte accepted the nomination of PDP-Laban for vice-presidential candidacy in 2022. The opposition is frowning upon his right to choose his own President.

READ: Duterte accepts PDP-Laban nomination to run for VP in 2022

One of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, Christian Monsod, said President Rodrigo Duterte was trying to circumvent the Constitution by using the vice presidency as a “backdoor” for another presidential term, referring to the rule on succession.

READ: Legal arguments raised vs Duterte’s fancied VP run

Guevarra was asked if Duterte wins and the president dies, becomes permanently incapacitated, or resigns, will he again be president?

“If he [Duterte] ran next year for vice president and something happens to the sitting president or the president who will win next year, that is precisely the role of the vice president, to take over,” Guevarra said.

“If the elected president dies in office, becomes permanently incapacitated, or resigns, that is the role of the vice president, and people are expected to understand that that will happen should they vote for a particular person to the position of vice president,” he added.

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