Juan Ponce Enrile Sr.
“Whether or not President Duterte succeeds in his endeavor for the Office of the Vice President is, in turn, dependent solely on the Filipino people.
This early, the political season of the 2022 national election is very much in air. Names and pictures of possible candidates for the two highest political posts in the land have lately been the daily fare of social media. And their partisan supporters have begun to take sides and freely hurl verbal insults against one another.
The most talked about names are that of Sara Duterte, Mayor of Davao City, and that of her father, President Rodrigo Duterte.
It seems that well-meaning friends and supporters thought of encouraging Sara to run for president and her father to run as her vice president in 2022. The idea inevitably provoked a legal issue, especially from some lawyers, and also evoked an intense emotional reaction from the political opposition. A former senator who is obsessively critical of the Duterte regime calls the idea a kind of a joke.
The legal riddle raised is: If President Duterte really desires to run for vice president in 2022, is he eligible to do so? My unequivocal reply is yes! He may legally and validly run for the Office of the Vice President in 2022.
There is no constitutional provision that disqualifies him from running for the Office of the Vice President in 2022. Section 4 of Article VII of the Constitution merely provides that “The President shall not be eligible for any reelection.”
The key question then is: What really is the meaning of the term “reelection” in the quoted provision of the Constitution? I checked the dictionary meaning of the word “reelection,” and the dictionary simply says “to elect again for another term in office.”
The Office of the President and the Office of Vice President are two separate and different offices. If Leni Robredo, the Vice President, should decide to run for president in 2022, she would be “elected” (not “reelected”) to the Office of the President. So also, if President Rodrigo Duterte should decide to run for vice president in 2022, similarly, he would be “elected” (not “reelected”) to the Office of the Vice President. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
Of course, whether or not President Duterte really runs for vice president in 2022 depends solely on his discretion and decision. And, whether or not President Duterte succeeds in his endeavor for the Office of the Vice President is, in turn, dependent solely on the Filipino people. It is all in accord with the democratic system we have in our country.
I humbly submit my brief opinion to the assessment of critics.