(UPDATED) - Officials on Thursday, January 4, reiterated that President Rodrigo Duterte will not stay beyond his term of six years.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the President has no intention of extending his term, which will end in 2022.
Roque stressed that Duterte was even willing to cut short his presidency, if the Constitution is amended to pave way for a federal state.
"He (Duterte) has said it before: If we can amend the Constitution and provide for provisions that will minimize graft and corruption, he will even resign prior to the end of his term of office in 2022. So the President is considering shortening his term but has definitely rejected even the idea of prolonging his term," Roque said in a press conference in Davao City.
"As I said, the President has no wish to extend his term. If the Constitution can be amended to provide for federalism and to provide for provisions that would strengthen public accountability, he has said he is willing to cut short his term," the presidential spokesman added.
House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, for his part, dismissed talks on the possible extension of Duterte's term under a federal form of government.
In a radio interview in Manila, Alvarez said members of the opposition are just trying to sow confusion by painting a no-elections scenario.
“Malinaw po ang sinabi ng Pangulo na yung kanyang termino mag-e-end on or before (2022.) Kasi kung kinakailangan niyang mag-resign bago mag-2022 para ang ating bagong Saligang Batas, yung bagong sistema ng gobyerno ay kaya niyang gawin yon (The President has clearly stated that his term would end on or before. He is willing to resign, if needed, before 2022 to pave the way for a new form of government),” Alvarez said.
“Matagal ko ng kilala yan, talagang pagod na rin at kung pupuwede nga lang bukas... (I have known him long. He's exhausted and, if he could, he would resign),” he added.
Alvarez said he would discuss with Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, upon the resumption of the Congress' session on January 15, moves to initiate the process of convening Congress into a constituent assembly that would draft a new constitution for a federal form of government.
“Ngayon, tatapusin namin ng mabilis iyan, at pagdating noong halalan ng barangay elections sa Mayo ay puwede na nating i-submit for ratification sa mga tao (We will fast track the process so that by the time barangay elections are held in May, we can also submit this for ratification by the public),” Alvarez said.
He suggested the scrapping of the senatorial elections in 2019 and allow senators, whose terms will expire in 2019, to serve in a holdover capacity during the transition period to the federal form of government or up to 2022 to avoid legal complications.
He argued that if elections are held in 2019, the winning senators would only serve until 2025.
“So pupuwede sabay-sabay na lang (elections) sa 2022 (matapos ang term ng mga senador) under the new structure of government,” Alvarez said.
Among the senators who are up for re-election in 2019 are Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, Sonny Angara, Cynthia Villar, JV Ejercito, Bam Aquino, Nancy Binay and Grace Poe.
Those who are not eligible for re-election are Senators Francis Escudero, Gregorio Honasan, Loren Legarda, and Antonio Trillanes IV.
Local elections for officials of local government units and members of the House of Representatives could still push through in 2019 since their terms would all expire in 2022.
Speculations about a possible extension of Duterte's term were revived after Pimentel on Wednesday, January 3, floated the possibility that Duterte might extended his stay in Malacañang if federalism pushes through this year.
"We can extend the President's term: one, if really necessary; two, if he is amenable to it; and three, since that extension will be part of the new Constitution, the new Constitution is approved by the people themselves," the Senate leader said.
The shift to federalism was among Duterte's campaign promises, which he intends to fulfill during his six-year term.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have promised that the revision of the 1987 Constitution and the shift to a federal country would be their top priorities in 2018. (VoxPop Philippines)