Palace shrugs off suggestions of fresh mandate for Aquino

Manila: The presidential palace on Wednesday played down suggestions of another term for President Benigno Aquino III, insisting that the current statute limits the term of office to six years.

“The President will abide by what the law says concerning the number of years he could serve,” Edwin Lacierda, presidential spokesperson said at a press briefing on Wednesday aired over government-run television station PTV4.

However, Lacierda said that the “President also listens to the voice of his bosses”, referring to the Filipino people.

The Philippine Constitution is explicit on the six-year term limit of the elected president.

“The President shall not be eligible for any re-election. No person who has succeeded as President and has served as such for more than four years shall be qualified for election to the same office at any time,” states Article 7, Section 4 of the 1997 Philippine Constitution.

Those who framed the 1997 statute instituted such a provision to prevent the country from becoming a dictatorship with the president prolonging his or her term in office.

Earlier, Transport and Communications Secretary Mar Roxas announced that he would be leading a campaign to extend Aquino’s term.

“If you were to ask me, the term of President Aquino should be longer because this is what is good for the country. He is clean, sincere, not corrupt. Is there any other former president who can make that claim?” he said.

Roxas, who ran for vice president but lost during the 2010 elections as Aquino’s running mate has started a campaign, largely based on the internet, to convince the President to extend his term.

The campaign is called “One more term for Pnoy” (Aquino).

Asked by reporters for his comment on a term extension of Aquino, Senate President Franklin Drilon said he does not want to make a statement on the matter until he knows what the real position of the President on the matter is.

“I haven’t heard that [plan for term extension]. From what I know, a term extension for the President will require changes in the Constitution. We all know that the President is reluctant to make any amendments on the Statute,” he said.

For his part, Senator Aquilino ‘Koko’ Pimentel III said he rejects the idea of making changes in the constitution to accommodate a term extension for the President.

“No amendments to prolong the term of office for the President,” Pimentel said.

During the convening of the Constitutional Commission to craft the Constitution in 1986 immediately after an uprising toppled then president Ferdinand Marcos, writers of the Constitution pointed out that the charter must have safeguards to prevent the basic law from being manipulated by those in power.

Marcos was elected in 1966 on a constitution that prescribed a four-year term. He won in a re-election in 1969. In 1972, he declared Martial Law preventing elections from being carried out and remaining in power until 1986 when a popular uprising, called the EDSA People Power, booted him out of office.

The Martial Law has been regarded as a dark page in the country’s history with numerous abuses committed by those in power.