DUTERTE’S MEN Incoming President Rodrigo Duterte is flanked by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano (left), peace adviser Jesus Dureza and Senator-elect Manny Pacquiao during a dinner meeting at the Hotel Elena in Davao City. DENNIS JAY SANTOS / INQUIRER MINDANAO
THE MAIN star will be missing but the show must go on.
With or without Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Congress will proclaim him the country’s 16th President at 3 p.m. today when it reconvenes as the national board of canvassers to adopt the report of the joint committee it had tasked with canvassing the results of the May 9 presidential election.
Also to be proclaimed is Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, who was declared the winner on Friday of the tight vice presidential race with Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. amid allegations of widespread fraud.
Today’s proclamation comes after only three days of canvassing by the joint committee last week. Senate President Franklin Drilon said this showed not only the stability and maturity of the political system but also “the clear and peaceful transfer of power from President Aquino to President-elect Duterte.”
Drilon congratulated the Commission on Elections for “a job well done.”
“I don’t see any problems. Within one hour’s time, we will conclude the proclamation. After one hour after convening, we will have a new President-elect and a Vice President-elect,” he said in a radio interview on Sunday.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said Duterte should attend his proclamation.
“I hope he will come because it’s an important part. It’s the beginning of his presidency. It is the seal of his victory in the last election. I cannot be sure because he’s been saying that he will not attend,” Belmonte said.
Silvestre Bello III, the designated new labor secretary, said he had urged Duterte to attend the proclamation to pave the way for a “harmonious relationship” with Congress. Tradition calls for his presence, he said.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime event,” said election lawyer Romulo Macalintal. “The millions who voted for Duterte would surely be happy to see their chosen candidate being officially declared the duly elected President.”
No show
In his regular news conference shortly before midnight on Saturday in Davao City, Duterte said his lawyers would attend today’s event in Congress.
“I am not attending any proclamation. I’ve never attended any proclamation in my life,” said Duterte, who has been Davao mayor for two decades.
He said he would rather spend his last few days in his hometown before formally assuming office in Malacañang on June 30.
Duterte scored a landslide victory in the May 9 elections, getting 16.6 million votes, 6.6 million more than administration candidate Mar Roxas. President Aquino had billed the balloting as a referendum on his daang matuwid (righteous path) governance.
Simple inaugural
The tough-talking mayor, who gained national following with his fierce crime fighting style and governance mettle, is the first head of state from Mindanao, and the oldest at 71.
His defeated vice presidential running mate, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, said on Friday he was certain that Duterte’s inauguration would be held in Malacañang. “He wants it very simple … just bottled water or soft drinks and finger foods,” he said.
Robredo will attend the proclamation, said Drilon, who was unsure if Duterte would show up. He said he and Belmonte signed and sent a formal invitation to Duterte and Robredo on Friday.
No legal effect
Still, Drilon said it was up to Duterte to decide if he would show up in Congress. He noted that Duterte’s absence would have no legal effect on his proclamation.
The Senate President was hopeful, though, that Duterte would appear today as the proclamation was a “tradition and symbol that we are a working democracy.”
Asked whether today’s event could be stopped by some lawmakers who might object or resort to filibuster to delay it, he said it was up to the lawmakers and that anything could happen.
“But we have seen during the canvassing that the certificates of canvass and election returns were clean and had no defects. I think public opinion will be on our side if we rush this proclamation because everyone was given the chance to question the certificates of canvass…,” Drilon said.
On the 3.2 million “undervotes” claimed by Marcos and which his lawyers raised during the canvassing, Drilon said undervoting was “natural” as it was not unusual that some people opted to abstain from voting for Vice President.
By Drilon’s count, of the 42,290,407 who voted for the six presidential candidates, only 40,805,888 voted for a Vice President. “That means there were 1,484,000 who did not vote for a Vice President,” he said. With reports from Jocelyn R. Uy and Gil C. Cabacungan in Manila; and Villamor Visaya Jr., Inquirer Northern Luzon