Concom: Digong may seek 2 more terms

By HERBIE GOMEZ
Editor in chief
and NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent .

THE consultative committee (Concom), tasked to review and recommend changes in the Constitution, is about to submit a proposal for a shift to a federal-presidential form of government that allows President Duterte, theoretically, to seek two more office terms.

The recommendation would be submitted next week, possibly on Tuesday or Wednesday, weeks ahead of Duterte’s July 23 state of the nation address, said Concom member Aquilino Pimentel Jr. yesterday.

During a forum here, Pimentel said the committee’s recommendation is to shorten the office term of the President from six to four years but allow him or her to seek one reelection, or a total of eight years.

Duterte’s term ends in 2022, and the Concom is not recommending an extension of his present term.

But according to Pimentel, Duterte may opt to run for President in 2022 and seek reelection four years later under a federal-presidential set-up if allowed by new constitution.

“The President already said that he is not seeking to extend his term, and I have to point out that we (Concom) are not working to give him any extension,” said Pimentel.

But “theoretically, he may [run for President in 2022 and seek a reelection],” Pimentel said.

He said another recommendation is to prohibit members of the President’s family from becoming his or her successor.

The Vice President, according to Pimentel, should be elected in tandem with the President under the proposed set-up.

Pimentel said the Concom also wants to increase the number of senators who would no longer be elected at large, but by voters in the federated regions.

He said his proposal is to have two senators for every federal region but Concom chairman Reynato Puno wants more: three senators for each.

With 18 proposed federated regions, the number of senators could shoot up from the present 24 to 36 or even 54.

“Our population is now 110 million. Other countries with much lesser populations have more senators than us,” said Pimentel, adding that the proposal seeks to ensure the equal number of representation of all the federated regions.

He added: “If the President likes our proposal, he would forward it to Congress. And then, there would be a plebiscite. In other words, the people will have the finay say on whether or not they want the Constitution changed so that we can have a federal system of government.”