No Election Scenario Looms Amid Push For Federalism (January 05,2018)

OUR LADY OF CAYSASAY ACADEMY
Integrated School
Taal, Batangas, Philippines
UPPER BASIC EDUCATION
No election scenario looms amid push for federalism (January 05,2018)

There will be no elections in 2019 if the planned shift to federalism pushes through this year,
lawmakers said.
"That's a possibility," Senator Bam Aquino told CNN Philippines on Thursday.
President Rodrigo Duterte's allies in Congress are proposing a constitutional assembly shortly after
both houses resume session on January 15. The assembly will introduce changes in the Constitution
to give way to a federal form of government – a major platform of the Duterte administration.
Following this timeline, Filipinos can vote for or against federalism in a plebiscite simultaneous with
the May 8 barangay elections, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said in a January 3 press release.
When asked to comment on Alvarez' statement, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said,
"Unless the Constitution is amended, which includes being ratified by the people prior to the date set
in the Constitution, elections will have to push through."
Senators dread no-election scenario

Possible amendments to the Constitution include drastic changes such as the postponement of
elections for 10 years, Senator Kiko Pangilinan said, citing "whispers" in Congress.
This would cover not just the 2019 midterm elections but the 2022 presidential polls as well.
"May 10 taon na transition period sa federalism na wala munang eleksyon at itutulak ang term
extension para sa mga nakaupo," Pangilinan said in a statement as he listed possible changes to the
Constitution.
Translation: "There is a 10-year transition period for federalism where elections would be postponed
and the term of officials will be extended."
He said all locals officials would be appointed in the absence of elections.
Aquino, a Liberal Party (LP) member, said the postponement of polls would undermine the country's
democracy.
"Dumadaan ka sa mga prosesong yan dahil demokrasya tayo. Mahalaga na meron tayong eleksyon,"
he said.
Translation: "We undergo the election process because we are a democracy. Elections are
important."
Senator JV Ejercito said, it "might be difficult to make people accept that there will be no elections.
People look forward to elections which is a referendum of all elected officials."
Senate President Koko Pimentel said it would only take a three-year transition period to shift to a
federal form of government.
Duterte to serve beyond 2022?

Pimentel said shifting to federalism is not tantamount to automatically extending Duterte's term.
But this could happen "if really necessary" and "if he's (Duterte) amenable to it."
Pimentel's statement however caught the ire of opposition lawmakers who criticize the government
for pushing for federalism to stay in power.
"The cat is out of the bag! At least, the real purpose of federalism is out -- term extension! LP will
oppose such immoral proposition," Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said.
Duterte has repeatedly denied any intention to stay in power, even offering to resign once federalism
is in place in the country.
In 2008, joint resolutions were filed in Congress to amend the Constitution in a bid to shift to
federalism but the initiative failed.
Talks of shifting to federalism gained steam again when Duterte won the 2016 elections and became
the first president from Mindanao. He believes this form of government will finally bring peace to the
conflict-stricken region.
A federal government creates autonomous states that have greater power over the administration
and resources of the territory they cover. Under the current presidential system, authority is
centralized in the national government based in Manila.
Speaker Alvarez proposes no-elections in 2019 for federalism (July 12,

2018)
If the administration wants to keep its focus on shepherding the country to federalism, it should cancel
the midterm elections in May next year to make sure lawmakers would be available to tackle the
necessary changes in the Charter, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said yesterday.
It was a contradiction of his earlier pronouncement that the polls should proceed as scheduled
despite the ongoing push for federalism.
“How can we have quorum? Of course congressmen will campaign – it’s elections, it’s survival,”
Alvarez told reporters in Filipino. “So how can we work on proposal to revise the Constitution?”
The deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy is in October.

“If we really want to get it done, we really need to carefully study the timetable,” he said in Filipino.
He made the remarks after the 25-man consultative committee (Concom) led by retired chief justice
Reynato Puno submitted its draft federal charter.
Cancelling the 2019 elections, according to Alvarez, would be practical as it would pave the way for
an easier transition to the proposed federal form of government.
The Speaker said lawmakers would be very busy in the next few months, especially with the coming
third State of the Nation Address of President Duterte on July 23, the filing of candidacy in October
and the start of the campaign season in February.
“Focus is really needed, we can’t do it (Charter change) recklessly,” he said.
Last January, Alvarez ruled out scrapping the May elections amid the push for federalism after initially
raising the no-election scenario.
House Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas also said the House would need more time to tackle Charter
change as he cited the four months that it took the Concom to finish its draft constitution. “Can we do
it in two months? Then we really have to rush it. If the leadership decides to have the proposal
implemented, then we will really work on it,” Fariñas said in Filipino.
The House leadership, he stressed, has yet to pore over the contents of the draft federal charter.
Fariñas said they would have to wait for the official transmittal of the draft charter from the Office of
the President before they could work on it.
The House committee on constitutional amendments has also prepared its own draft federal charter.
Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente Sotto III scoffed at Alvarez’s statement regarding canceling the
May 2019 elections.
He said postponing or scrapping the elections next year would not be possible without amending
Article VI Section 8 of the Constitution, which sets the elections of senators and members of the
House of Representatives every second Monday of May every three years.
Sotto said he strongly doubts his colleagues would support Alvarez’s suggestion.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, for his part, said the administration – in its attempt to amend
the Constitution – was assuming that Filipinos or a majority of them want Charter change at this time.
“Instead of amending the Constitution now, which may result in a no-el (no elections) in 2019, would
they want government to address first issues as rising prices, poverty, EJKs (extrajudicial killings) and
peace and order, etcetera?” Drilon said.
He described the Concom’s draft as just a “reference” to be used by Congress, if and when
lawmakers decide to start the process of amending the Constitution.
He said the Senate committee on constitutional amendments, chaired by opposition Sen. Francis
Pangilinan, held hearings the past several months centered on three questions: Is there a need to
amend the 1987 Constitution; If yes, what is the preferred mode, constitutional convention or
constituent assembly? If by constituent assembly, will it be separate or joint voting for the two
chambers.
Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV urged the public to be vigilant, saying the Charter change being
pushed by the administration “could deprive people of the right to choose their next leaders.”
Meanwhile, the Concom recommended the inclusion of the past four presidents in the 18-man
transition team that it agreed to organize to clear the way for federalism.
Puno said an elected transitory president will head the transition committee, 10 members of which will
be experts in economics, law and governance development, among others.
Ex-officio members will include the transitory vice president, the sitting Senate president, House
speaker and the four previous presidents, Puno said.
The composition of the committee reflects a “more balanced” sharing of power, he told reporters.
“They will be the ones to see to it that the shift to federal government will be as smooth as possible,”
he added. –

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OUR LADY OF CAYSASAY ACADEMY

No election scenario looms amid push for federalism (January 05,2018)

"That's a possibility," Senator Bam Aquino told CNN Philippines on Thursday.

Senators dread no-election scenario

He said all locals officials would be appointed in the absence of elections.

Duterte to serve beyond 2022?

Speaker Alvarez proposes no-elections in 2019 for federalism (July 12,

The deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy is in October.

“Focus is really needed, we can’t do it (Charter change) recklessly,” he said.

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