Tag: PDP-Laban

Statements

On the PDP-Laban Petition to Reopen the COC Filing Period

I would not like to think that the intention of the petition to reopen the filing of the COCs filed by the PDP-Laban is to delay the election on May 9, 2022 – and pave the way for the extension of the term of office of the President beyond June 30, 2022. This is something the 1987 Constitution clearly forbids.

As I have suggested earlier to Senate President Vicente Sotto III and some of my colleagues, the Senate must not allow this to happen. We can preserve the presidential line of succession as provided under Art. VII Sec. 7 of the 1987 Constitution. How?

SP Sotto and Speaker Lord Allan Velasco are both stepping down along with the President and Vice President on June 30. If such a scenario becomes imminent, before Congress adjourns, we will elect a new Senate President whose term expires on June 30, 2025. He/she shall act as President until a new President or Vice President shall have been chosen and qualified.

Most of my colleagues have already agreed to this proposal, since democracy and the fundamental law of the land could be at risk.

Let me clarify and emphasize that I am not accusing the administration of any malevolent attempt in this possible scenario. What I’m only saying is that the Senate will always be the bulwark of our democracy, and I take pride in playing a major role in it.

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Statements

On President Duterte’s VP ‘Endorsement’ for 2022 Polls

It won’t matter to my and Senate President Sotto’s determination to run in the May 2022 national elections. We have already declared, and at this point in time, there is no turning back.

That said, we continue to hope that the electorate will not be swayed by entertainment politics, nor affected by fear and intimidation when they choose our country’s next leaders.

As long as the campaign runs on issues involving our people’s desire for good governance made possible by fixing a systematically broken government, we are good.

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