Lawyer Romulo Macalintal. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III’s allies should stop using the phrase “term extension” in expressing their desire to allow the Chief Executive to serve beyond June 30, 2016, lawyer Romulo Macalintal said on Sunday.
Macalintal said “term extension” meant Aquino would get more years in office without the benefit of the ballot, thus validating presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda’s alleged “Freudian slip” regarding the possibility of a “no election scenario” in 2016.
“They should be reminded that when we speak of ‘extension of term’ for elective officials, it is tantamount to saying that there will be ‘no election’ for these officials and that their term of office will be merely ‘extended,’” Macalintal said.
Such a scheme is not allowed under the country’s democratic system of government and should be opposed, according to the lawyer.
“[A]n extension of the term of office of an elected official is undemocratic and therefore not allowed under our Constitution. Thus, to amend the Constitution to extend the term of office of an elective official is a clear circumvention of the democratic system of our government,” he said.
Macalintal recalled a 1994 Supreme Court case Davide v. Comelec, where the high tribunal stated that in a democracy, “elected leaders can legally and morally justify their reign only by obtaining the voluntary consent of the electorate.”
“Clearly, there is no such thing as an ‘extension of term’ of office of an elected official because in our democratic system, any elective official whose term of office is expiring has to seek another mandate, if still allowed by Constitution, and cannot ask for an “extension” of his term of office. If re-elected, he gets his mandate through the ballots and not by virtue of an extended tenure in office,” the lawyer said.
If an amendment were made allowing Aquino to seek reelection, such amendment should be worded in such a way that all previous presidents, such as Presidents Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, could likewise seek reelection, Macalintal said.
The lawyer, however, said if the term of the president were to be amended, similar amendments could also be proposed to lengthen the terms of office of representatives, governors and mayors, and even barangay officials, from their present three-year term to four-year term or longer.
Lacierda, in an interview with reporters last week, was quoted as saying that people should wait for President Aquino to endorse a candidate for the 2016 elections but added “in case the 2016 elections will push through.”
Lacierda later took back his words, saying the elections would push through but added that Aquino has neither decided yet on endorsing a candidate or seeking term extension, which the President’s allies have been planning to do via a constitutional amendment.
Macalintal, however, expressed the belief that any plan to amend the Constitution would not prosper.
“Time and budgetary constraints bar such a political plan. The Commission on Elections cannot even conduct a recall election in Palawan for lack of the required P20-million budget. What more of a constitutional amendment which may require P10-billion budget as it involves a nationwide campaign and plebiscite for its ratification by the entire electorate of the country?” he said.
According to Macalintal, 2015 budget does not include any appropriation for such a political exercise.
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