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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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January 17, 2018
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‘Re-election for prez; VP, Ombudsman, Bar council gone’
MANILA – The president will have a shorter term but they will be allowed to run for re-election if the House of Representatives Committee on Constitutional Amendments’ proposed Federal Charter gets approved.
A hearing headed by committee chair Roger Mercado (Southern Leyte) on Tuesday discussed the proposal for the president to have a term of “five years with one re-election.”
In the proposed amendments to constitution, the Office of the Vice President, the Judicial and Bar Council, and the Office of the Ombudsman will be abolished and their tasks relegated to the Department of Justice.
“The president will be the head of state symbolizing the sovereignty of the people, and the unity and solidarity of the nation,” read part of the proposal.
“The president will have an oversight power on all branches of the government, constitutional bodies, independent bodies, departments, agencies and offices, head of international relations and foreign affairs, and commander in chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and have appointing, pardoning and residual powers,” it stated.
A prime minister will nominate and appoint the Supreme Court’s chief justice and its members but must get consent from the Commission on Appointments.
The federal charter proposed also aimed to divide the Philippines into five states – Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, Bangsamoro, and Metro Manila – with each having its own constitution, capital, flag, anthem, and seal.
Under to the proposal, the political units of each state are provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays. Each state will have its own unicameral State Assembly, which will handle all legislative functions of the state government.
The State Assembly will be headed by two representatives elected from each province and one representative directly elected from each highly urbanized or independent city.
A premiere, who will be elected by all members of the State Assembly, will handle all executive functions in each state, including the authority to appoint state Cabinet members and other state government positions.
The administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has been pushing for a shift to a federal form of government as a means to address issues, particularly in the strife-torn Mindanao./PN
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