Elective: Advance Constitutional Law Seminar Anna Lee A. Carbonil Kaye F. Ruiz

Elective: Advance Constitutional Law Seminar
Anna Lee A. Carbonil

Kaye F. Ruiz
PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE’S VICE PRESIDENTIAL BID
BACKGROUND OF THE ISSUE:
July 1, 2021 - "Maybe, to maintain the equilibrum sa lahat (for all), consider me a
candidate for the vice presidency at this time," said Duterte during the inauguration of the
LRT Line 2 East Extension Project.
July 12, 2021— President Rodrigo Duterte admitted on Monday that he declared the
possibility of running for vice president next year “just to scare” his political opponents,
but he said he was still considering the move if it would really be good for the country.
August 25, 2021 - "I will run for vice president, then I will continue the crusade. I'm worried
about the drugs, insurgency -- well, number one is insurgency, then criminality, drugs,"
Duterte said in a pre-recorded speech.
September 8, 2021 – President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday formally accepted his

nomination as the official vice presidential candidate of the ruling party, the Partido
Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), to ensure the “continuity” of his
efforts to bring progress to the country.
October 2, 2021 – President Rodrigo Duterte announced his retirement from politics.
WHAT THE CONSTITUTION SAYS
Section 4, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution says: "The President and the Vice-President
shall be elected by direct vote of the people for a term of six years which shall begin at
noon on the thirtieth day of June next following the day of the election and shall end at
noon of the same date six years thereafter. The President shall not be eligible for any
reelection."
HOW IS DUTERTE’S VICE PRESIDENTIAL BID UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Interpretation of the word “any” in Section 4, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution
The word "any" in the last sentence should refer to both reelection as president and vice
president, since the two positions were mentioned in the preceding sentences, said Far
Eastern University Law Dean Mel Sta Maria.
"In other words, the President shall not be eligible to run for reelection for 'any' of the
positions: either the Office of the President or the Office of the Vice President" - Sta Maria
Intent of the framers of the 1987 Constitution
By limiting a president's rule to just one term, the Constitution "is permeated with
mechanisms to rein in future presidents and check executive overreach" - Molo
The Constitution was crafted to safeguard the country from another dictatorship,
Guevarra said the framers "should have expressly provided that the president shall not
be eligible for any reelection to run for vice president at any subsequent national election,"
but they didn't.
Molo, on the other hand said that while Section 4 is silent on that, the Constitution also
did not expressly write the words “separation of powers" and “checks and balances." But
those are two fundamental principles in Philippine law.
"In separation of powers, a reading that expands the power of one branch (i.e., president),
always comes at the cost of weakening the other two branches. Think of the law of
conservation of matter," said Molo.
Circumventing the Constitution
Christian Monsod, one of the framers of the Constitution: Duterte running for vice
president "is an ingenious and insidious move to circumvent the Constitutional provision
on reelection."
Now, let us assume that there is vagueness in the phrase “any re-election”. The spirit of
the constitution leads to no other conclusion but that when an incumbent President’s term
is over, he or she should not be allowed to have any institutional influence at the highest
level of government in the next administration. To allow it will create an opportunity for a
previous president to either provide instability within the government or worse, to make
the next President nothing but a stooge. What cannot be done directly cannot be done
indirectly. To do so would be a mockery of the prohibition.
Also, if a President later becomes the Vice President and at the same time a cabinet
member, through his leadership, he can use Section 11 Article 7 of the Constitution to
remove the President by simply gathering the majority of the cabinet and invoking the
constitutional provision on removal by cabinet endorsement to Congress.
Reasons for the prohibition on reelection of President
As per Records of the Constitutional Commission, the following are the reasons given by
the framers of the 1987 Constitution for not wanting to allow a President to run for re-
election.
1. Abuse of Power - The same fear of a repeat of martial law, or fear that any future
President might abuse the authority and powers of his office, was discussed when drafting
this section of the Constitution on the powers and term limits of the Chief Executive was
being drafted. Commissioner Rodrigo, the sponsor of the adopted scheme of six years,
explained that “the main reason we want to prohibit a President from running for reelection
is that he might use his vast powers to assure his reelection....”.
2. Prevention of Political Dynasties - Another fear, also related to the perpetuation of

power by one man, was the fear of political dynasties. It is not uncommon in Philippine
politics to have three members of the family in government at one point in time. There are
also a number of established “political families” — families whose members have been
elected to serve a constituency either simultaneously or consecutively.
3. Undue Advantage of the Incumbent

A more practical reason for not favoring re-election is to create a fair electoral playing
field. When the incumbent runs for President, he or she would have the resources and
influence of his or her office on hand. This would give him an unfair advantage over
anyone else who would seek that same office.
HOW IS DUTERTE’S VICE PRESIDENTIAL BID CONSTITUTIONAL
Re-election
There is nothing in the wording of the present constitution that prohibits the sitting
president from running for the position of vice president. What the Constitution expressly
prohibits is for him to be reelected and when we speak of reelection, we are talking about
the same position as what he is currently holding.
• The Cambridge Dictionary defines Re-election as “the act of electing someone

again to the same position”.
• Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J., a leading constitutionalist and a member of the 1986
Constitutional Convention, defined Re-election as “vying for office a second time
around, whether immediately after one’s term of office or at any period thereafter.”
• In Pormento v. Estrada, the Supreme Court held:
… the issue on the proper interpretation of the phrase "any reelection" will be
premised on a person's second election as President…
Statutory Construction
• Verba legis non-est recedendum - Whenever possible, the words used in the
Constitution must be given their ordinary meaning except where technical terms
are employed therein.
The words of Section 4, Article VII of the Constitution is clear, unambiguous

and is bereft of any technical terms such that they must be understood in their
ordinary meaning.
• Ratio legis est anima - When there is doubt, the words of the Constitution should
be interpreted in accordance with the intent of the framers.
Section 4, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution is clear and unambiguous,

thus, we should not resort to interpretation according to the intent of the framers of
the Constitution. But even granting for the sake of argument that there is ambiguity,
the framers did not intend any prohibition for the President to run as Vice President.
If the framers of the Constitution intended to make the sitting president ineligible
to run for any position after his term of office, then they could just have expressly
provided so.
• Ut magis valeat quam pereat - The Constitution should be interpreted as a whole.
Sections 2 - 5, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution provide for the relevant
provision on the Qualifications, Election and Term of Office of the President and
the Vice President. Taken as a whole, these provisions leave no doubt for any
other interpretation than that of the unequivocal interpretation that the president
can run as Vice President.
Intent of the framers of the 1987 Constitution
Records of the Constitutional Commission reveal that the main reason given by the
framers of the 1987 Constitution for not wanting to allow a President to run for re-election
in the same office is the fear of a repeat of martial law, or fear that any future President
might abuse the authority and powers of his office to assure his reelection. This reason
does not apply to the Vice-President because he does not have vast powers. As a matter
of fact, he has no powers at all, unless he is appointed to a Cabinet position. He is what
we call a spare tire.
President by Succession vs. President by Reelection
The vice president is mandated to assume the presidency in case of the death,
disability, or resignation of the incumbent President. If, hypothetically, President Rodrigo
Roa Duterte is elected vice president and any of the above-mentioned contingencies
occurs, then he will assume the presidency not by virtue of a reelection but on account of
a constitutional succession. President by reelection is different from President by
succession. The former is expressly prohibited by the Constitution while the latter is
imbued in Art. 7 Sec. 8 as a way to fill a vacancy in the presidency.
He is qualified and he has the right to run to office
He possesses all the qualifications in order to run as Vice President in accordance with
Section 2 and 3, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution.
Section 2, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution - No person may be elected President
unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and
write, at least forty years of age on the day of the election, and a resident of the Philippines
for at least ten years immediately preceding such election.
Section 3, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution - There shall be a Vice-President who shall
have the same qualifications and term of office and be elected with and in the same
manner as the President. He may be removed from office in the same manner as the
President.
The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which, as approved

unanimously by 48 nations (the Philippines included) on Dec.10, 1948, contains a
provision on the rights of human beings to run for office. It says in Article 21:
1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or
through freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
While there is no specific Philippine law providing for the right to run for public
office, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a binding international
agreement under the incorporation clause of the Constitution.
Violation of the Right to suffrage
By prohibiting a president from running as vice president right after the end of his term
would also curtail the right to suffrage. This will be unduly imposing on the rights of the
Filipino people to choose their own leaders.
Commissioner Abubakar emphasized that they should not deprive a people of
choosing their leader, reminding the commissioners of the importance of placing their
confidence in the voters, for they would be better able to determine whether they would
want a leader to continue his services. If he did a good job, that leader would “live with
them.” He reminded the Commission that it was not in their place to dictate to the people
what they want.
Commissioner Felicitas Aquino seconded this argument by saying that, ultimately, it

is still the people who must decide on the term limits of their President and who will guard
against any abuses of power by any President. Bishop Bacani added that the Filipino
people are mature enough to make such judgments, and therefore, the Commission must
not deny them the privilege of suffrage now.

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Elective: Advance Constitutional Law Seminar

Anna Lee A. Carbonil

PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE’S VICE PRESIDENTIAL BID

BACKGROUND OF THE ISSUE:

September 8, 2021 – President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday formally accepted his

WHAT THE CONSTITUTION SAYS

HOW IS DUTERTE’S VICE PRESIDENTIAL BID UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Intent of the framers of the 1987 Constitution

Circumventing the Constitution

2. Prevention of Political Dynasties - Another fear, also related to the perpetuation of

3. Undue Advantage of the Incumbent

HOW IS DUTERTE’S VICE PRESIDENTIAL BID CONSTITUTIONAL

• The Cambridge Dictionary defines Re-election as “the act of electing someone

The words of Section 4, Article VII of the Constitution is clear, unambiguous

Section 4, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution is clear and unambiguous,

• Ut magis valeat quam pereat - The Constitution should be interpreted as a whole.

Intent of the framers of the 1987 Constitution

He is qualified and he has the right to run to office

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which, as approved

Violation of the Right to suffrage

Commissioner Felicitas Aquino seconded this argument by saying that, ultimately, it

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