FEB.

23, 2014

NR # 3386B

Interim succession law sought, in case of failure of elections

What if theres failure of elections for the position of President and Vice President, and Congress has yet to elect their Senate President and Speaker? Just like nature, power hates a vacuu ! "nce a power vacuu e#ists, a host of power$seeking forces rush in to fill the void,% sur ised &ayan 'una Party$list law akers who proposed that the Chief Justice of the Supre e Court shall act as (nteri President! )eps! *eri Col enares and Carlos (sagani +arate are anticipating a re ote ,ut possi,le scenario the country would not wish to e#perience! -his is the reason they authored .& /012 or the proposed (nteri Succession 3ct!% .& /012 provides for a Syste of interi succession for the position of President in the event that there is failure of elections for the position of President and Vice$ President and the Senate and the .ouse of )epresentatives have yet to elect their President and Speaker, respectively, and for other purposes!% 3rticle V((, Section 4 of the 2504 Constitution provides6 Where no President or Vice President shall have ,een chosen or shall have 7ualified or when ,oth shall have died or ,eco e per anently disa,led, the President of the Senate or, in case of his ina,ility, the Speaker of the .ouse of )epresentatives, shall act as President until a President or a Vice President shall have ,een chosen and 7ualified!% -he said constitutional provision, the authors pointed out, does not conte plate a situation where there is general failure of the national elections! Should there ,e assive and national ,rown outs, or a de,ilitating and fatal virus attack on or widespread hacking or the auto ated election syste , or a co plete ,reakdown of the auto ated national elections, there is that realistic possi,ility that no President, Vice President or e ,er of Congress are elected,% Col enares e#plained! .e added that even if the Senate is a continuing ,ody,% the twelve re aining senators cannot elect the President of the Senate as they no longer constitute the a8ority of the e ,ers of the Senate, there,y creating a vacuu that could lead the country into a a8or political crisis and disorder is very likely to follow suit! 9urther ore, the authors argued that the 3d inistrative Code cannot also ,e the source of guidance since it does not conte plate a grant of authority to the incu ,ent President to rule the country in a holdover capacity! :nder .& /012, -he Chief Justice of the Supre e Court shall act as the (nteri

President of the )epu,lic of the Philippines in the event that there is failure of election for the position of President and Vice$President, and the Senate and the .ouse of )epresentatives are una,le to elect their President and Speaker, respectively ,y the ti e that the ter of the office of the incu ,ent President shall ,e ended, or in any other situation where no succession could take place as conte plated under Sections 4 and 0 of 3rticle V(( of the Constitution!% 9urther ore, .&/012 provides that -he Chief Justice, as (nteri President, shall call for a special election not later than three onths for the position of President, Vice President, Senators, and Congress en after assu ing the interi position! -he incu ,ent President shall not ,e 7ualified to run for re$election in the said special elections! :pon election and 7ualification of the President, the Chief Justice, as (nteri President, shall relin7uish the Presidency i ediately after the President and Vice$President shall have ,een sworn into office and revert to his for er position as Chief Justice unless his ter has lapsed due to retire ent,% .& /012 states! "n the other hand, in the event that the ter of the Chief Justice lapsed during his incu ,ency as (nteri President, he shall continue to serve as such until a President and Vice$President shall have ,een sworn into office! ;ikewise, notwithstanding the date of his or her assu ption into office, the ter of office of the President elected in the special elections shall ,e dee ed to have started fro the end of the ter of the preceding President and shall end at noon on the thirtieth days of June si# years thereafter and thereafter no longer eligi,le to run for re$election! 3lso, during the interi period, the Chief Justice as (nteri President shall ,e stripped of his duties in the Judiciary, and the ost senior Justice of the Supre e Court shall, for purposes of this 3ct, assu e the office of the Chief Justice for the interi period! -he easure also provides that in the event that the ter of the Chief Justice e#pires during the interi period, the anner provided ,y the Constitution for the appoint ent of the Chief Justice shall apply! </=> dpt