Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice. FILE PHOTO
The most vocal critic of Vice President Jejomar Binay in the House of Representatives called Binay’s proposal to lift term limits and make it “one to sawa” an idea of a greedy and corrupt politician.
“Greed for absolute power it corrupts absolutely. A scary man, a scary family,” Caloocan Representative Edgar Erice said Friday.
He added that Binay only wanted to tease politicians who wanted to hold on to their positions and get their support in the 2016 presidential elections.
“A trapo who would tease those politicians who would want to perpetuate themselves in their respective localities,” Erice said.
“God spare us from Binay!” he added.
He said lifting the term limits in the Constitution would only reduce the country into a “banana republic” that is wrought with “cronyism, dynasties,
corruption.”
In an address to local officials in Bacolod city on Thursday, Binay said an official should be allowed to run several tines as long as he or she gets
the voters’ support.
“Itong term na ito ’di talaga ako naniniwala d’yan. Kailangan one to sawa ’yan, hangga’t gusto ng tao. Kaya kung meron amendments sa Constitution,
ipapaalis ko yung term limitation. Hangga’t maaari, iboto nang iboto,” said Binay, who served as Makati mayor for 20 years from 1988 to 1998
and 2001 to 2010 before he was elected Vice President.
(I don’t believe in the current term [of office]. An elected official should continues to serve as long as the people want him. If there will be amendments to the constitution, I will propose to drop the term limitation. As long as he’s voted.)
The 1987 Constitution states that the President is not eligible for reelection after a six-year term. It also says the Vice President is not eligible to run for more than two successive terms.
Binay has expressed his intention to run for president in 2016 amid allegations of corruption and rigged bidding in the construction of the Makati City Hall Building II and the Makati Science High School building.