President Rodrigo Duterte is willing to cut short his six-year term to pave the way for a federal form of government in the country, but it must be one that would continue to have a President.
In his first State of the Nation Address (Sona), Mr. Duterte made a fresh pitch for one of his advocacies—a shift to federalism, a system in which states share power with the national government.
The Philippines, he told lawmakers, could have a federal government and a parliament, “but be sure to have a President.”
Giving power to Parliament alone would be dangerous, as it takes time to act, Mr. Duterte said.
There must be a President, even if his powers would be limited or ceremonial, except when there’s a time of need or a demand for action, he said.
Should Congress be able to achieve this shift to a federal government, he would give way for the election of a new President, even if his own term is not yet finished, he said.
He himself would be disqualified from running for the same position, Mr. Duterte said.
“If you can give me that document, I would urge you to call for an election the following day, the following week, and even if there is still two years, three years [in my term], I will go. I am OK. Do not worry about me. I don’t aim to that much ambition,” he said.
He said he had already won the election and remarked that he did not even know how that happened.
To the lawmakers’ amusement, he chided them about the fact that none of them had even supported him during the campaign. TVJ
