President Rodrigo Duterte is willing to step down before end his 6-year term in 2022 if the government adopts a federal system, House speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said January 4.
“Malinaw po ang sinabi ng Pangulo na ang kaniyang termino ay mag-e-end on or before 2022,” Alvarez said.
Vacating the presidency, Alvarez said, will give way for the new Constitution.
Meanwhile, Sen. Koko Pimentel told reporters Wednesday, January 3, that if Congress approves a new Constitution by 2019, the three succeeding years would be the transitory period as the government shifts from a unitary to a federal government.
This is when his president’s term might be cut short or might be extended should the Constitution be ratified.
However, Pimentel said that Duterte’s term extension is necessary only if he’s amenable to it.
“We can extend the President’s term 1. If really necessary and 2. If he’s amenable to it and 3. Since that extension will be part of the new Constitution, the new Constitution is approved by the people themselves,”
The senator, though, clarified that the charter change (ChaCha) intends to transition the government system and not extend the president’s term.
The Senate leader added that the term extension still depends on the transitory provisions as it will dictate the terms and duties of those elected in the last elections.
