ON PNOYS SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT By Philip Jr Lustre Somebody asked me last night if PNoy could run again. I told my friend, he could not because the 1987 Constitution bars him to seek reelection. The Charter is clear that a president could only have a single six-year term of office without reelection. The Constitution has to be amended if he wants to seek a second term. But his supporters could seek a constitution amendment via the public initiative process. Republic Act 6735,or the Initiative and Referendum Act of 1989 provides that a proposal to amend the Constitution requires the signature of at least 12 percent of all registered voters, and at least three percent of registered voters in every congressional district. The proposed amendment becomes valid for adoption in the Constitution by a simple majority in a plebiscite. This may sound simple, but it is not easy to accomplish. Any proposal to amend the Constitution would require a groundswell of support from the people, key sectors including the Church, civil society, and the youth, and political leaders composed of lawmakers and local officials. The political leaders have to agree to support any proposal for a term extension of the President. At the moment, not one among the crop of political leaders, or presidential wannabes could generate that groundswell of support. Not Jojo Binay, Bongbong Marcos, Allan Peter Cayetano, Chiz Escudero, or Grace Poe...
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 05:42:16 +0000
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