By Gian Angnged

Despite recent complaints of exhaustion over the demands of his job and repeated threats of resignation in the past 3 years, President Rodrigo Duterte in a taped address aired last Tuesday  confirmed he would run for vice president in the 2022 National Elections.

Political analysts and critics say Duterte’s bid for the country’s second-highest office is a backdoor for a return to top post and an attempt to evade possible prosecution once he steps down as Chief Executive.

The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Office of the Prosecutor earlier sought judicial authorization to probe the crimes against humanity case filed against Mr. Duterte in connection with his bloody war on drugs. 

Duterte himself remarked just weeks before he announced his 2022 bid that he would run for vice president to shield himself from suit. 

“Sabi ng batas, na kung presidente ka, bise presidente ka, may immunity ka. Eh di tatakbo na lang akong bise presidente. And after that, tatakbo ulit ako ng bise presidente at bise presidente at bise presidente,” he said during a PDP-LABAN assembly, drawing cheers from his party mates.

However, legal experts say the vice president does not enjoy immunity from suit. The 1987 Constitution also provides that the vice president is barred from serving more than two consecutive terms.

“Only the President is immune from suit and this is not even spelled out in the present 1987 Constitution—unlike in the 1973 Marcos Constitution—but only recognized in prevailing jurisprudence,” Edre Olalia, president of the National Union of People’s Lawyers, wrote in a Facebook post. 

Former Supreme Court Public Information Office chief Theodore “Ted” Te also refuted Duterte’s claim. “The VP is not immune from suit by law or by tradition. Non-issue. Non-story,” Te wrote on Twitter.

Holding the strings in secret?

Duterte has said he is worried about being elected as vice president if his successor is not his ally. 

“If I run for vice president and the elected president is not a friend, the situation would arise where I would remain an inutile thing there,” Duterte said during his meeting with PDP-Laban officers. 

“Ito ang dilemma ko. The president who will win must be a friend of mine whom I can work with,” he continued.

Duterte, who was given free rein by his party to choose his presidential candidate, is looking to end up on an electoral ticket with his closest aide Senator Christopher “Bong” Go—but only if his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, does not enter the presidential race. However, Mr. Go on Monday declined PDP-LABAN’s endorsement for him to run as the party’s standard-bearer. 

Critics and experts are concerned that Duterte wants his successor to be his ally so he can stay in power beyond his term by taking over as president in the event that his successor wins and then resigns, allowing Duterte to assume top post and ensuring his protection from legal action. 

“In choosing his successor, President Duterte is grappling with an unstated urgent concern: who can be best trusted to protect and insulate him from almost certain criminal suits once he is out of power,” said the Center for People Empowerment in Governance, a policy think tank.

“This is really part of the scheme of the Duterte clique to extend not only influence but control of government,” said Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate.

Bastardizing the constitution

There is no constitutional prohibition for a President to run for lower posts. In fact, Duterte’s vice presidential bid follows in the footsteps of his graft-tainted predecessors Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Joseph Estrada, who sought and won other positions in office after their terms as Chief Executive ended. 

However, Duterte’s bid goes against the intent of the 1987 Constitution, says one of its framers, as it allows him to stay in power beyond his term.

“It’s an insidious move to circumvent the constitutional prohibition on reelection because the Vice President is the mandatory line of succession to a vacancy,” explained Christian Monsod, also a lawyer and former Commission on Elections (ComElec) chair. 

“During the Constitutional Commission, the 6-year term was a compromise to the previous terms of President where he has a 4-year term plus 4 years of reelection. So, the debate was, is that sufficient? Six years? And the answer is yes,” he added. “It’s good enough for a good president and it can prevent a bad one from using his powers to continue in office.”

It is also important to note that the constitutional term limit was placed there because of the dark chapter in Philippine history under the strongman rule of Ferdinand Marcos, who sat in power for over two decades.

Let us not allow a repeat of the Marcos regime. We must not allow an extension of the past five years of human rights abuses, media repression, corruption, criminal negligence, and economic decline.