Wednesday, June 04, 2008 Justice Chief sees death of snap polls bill
JUSTICE Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. said the proposal legislation to hold snap elections to address rising oil and rice prices is good as dead because President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will not sign the bill.
Gonzalez said having snap elections to change the leadership in government will not solve the problem and is impractical, to boot, as it will just waste billions of pesos to be used in the elections when the next presidential elections is just two years away.
“If they want to have a snap election, they have to pass a law but its second to impossible because the President will not sign that bill. I don’t think so, there’s a very slim chance. The President has said that she will not sign it. There are many avenues for having a change in leadership,” Gonzalez said.
He said once a snap election is called, there will be campaigning and bureaucracy will be on a standstill.
He further pointed out that fuel prices are beyond the control of the government since the Philippines is not an oil-producing country and it can only comply with the dictates of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) on crude prices.
“Not even US President George W. Bush was able to convince Opec members to lower oil prices. What is the assurance that the leaders will be able to stop oil price hikes?” he said.
Gonzalez also said proponents of snap elections in Congress should first amend the Constitution if they are really interested in pursuing this line of thought as the 1987 Constitution, which has prescribed a six-year term for the president.
This succession rule also provided for “automatic succession” which can be used should the sitting President be killed, incapacitated or declared unfit to finish her term, in which case the Vice President, Senate President and House Speaker can substitute for the President should the latter be incapacitated.
“There could be a snap election if there is a law removing the line of succession. If your target is only the President, then impeach her, or force her to resign for example. The line of succession is already defined by the Constitution,” said Gonzalez.
Chief presidential legal counsel Sergio Antonio Apostol supported Gonzalez’s claim, saying the passage of the snap elections bill could be considered a violation of the Constitution which provides a specific term for a sitting president.
Apostol said unless the Constitution is amended, the term of a president could neither be shortened nor lengthened.
“If they passed that bill, it becomes unconstitutional. It violates the constitutional provision on the term of the president. The Constitution is very clear that the term of the president is fixed so you cannot shorten it unless you amend the Constitution,” he said.
He added that Malacañang is not behind any moves to amend the Constitution or to call for a snap election.
The snap elections bill was filed in the House by Nueva Ecija Representative Edno Joson. (ECV/JMR/Sunnex)
