MANILA – Senators Risa Hontiveros and Grace Poe have dismissed the possibility of a no-election scenario in 2019.
Postponing the 2019 midterm elections to give lawmakers enough time to shift to the federal system is “farcical,” said Hontiveros.
“We legislators should set our priorities straight. What needs to be cancelled is not the midterm elections but the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act,” she added.
Hontiveros stressed that “instead of advancing narrow political interests such as prolonging terms of public office through an unnecessary postponement of elections, what Congress needs to do is protect the people’s economic rights and welfare.”
The proposal to postpone the elections is “a great disservice to the proposed new system of governance,” she added.
“Was that what the President’s federalism was all about all along? Prolong the term limits of his political allies?” said Hontiveros.
Poe, for her part, expressed confidence that the senators will not approve plans to cancel next year’s polls.
Any move to shortcut the proposed shift to a federal form of government will not be accepted by the public, said Poe, who topped the recent senatorial survey of Pulse Asia.
“The Constitution specifically states when we are going to have the elections and 2019 is certainly an election year. You can probably amend the Constitution but even if you do, you need the Senate vote,” she explained.
Earlier, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez floated the idea of a no-election scenario, saying that scrapping the May 2019 polls is necessary to work on the proposal to revise the Constitution.
“There’s the Senate that he (Alvarez) has to deal with,” Poe said.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said a constitutional amendment is needed to postpone the elections.
“Malinaw sa Article 6, Section 8 of the 1987 Constitution na elections must be held every three years. Therefore if you are going to postpone it, it needs a constitutional amendment and it has to through a plebiscite also before we proceed,” said Sotto./PN