SENATE President Vicente “Tito” Sotto said on Saturday that President Rodrigo Duterte could not seek another term should a federal government be finalized.
However, Vice President Leni Robredo can run again for an executive seat as the prevailing 1987 Constitution allows her to do so, he said.
“Ang vice president naman pwede talaga magre-election eh, kahit sa Constitution natin ngayon. Sa presidente hindi talaga pwede,” he explained in a radio interview.
(The vice president can really seek re-election even in the present Constitution. For the president, it really cannot happen.)
Sotto also brushed aside worries expressed by some over the draft federal Charter being devised by Duterte’s Consultative Committee (Con-com).
“As of now everything stands as a proposal so ‘wag kaagad silang mangamba na eto na (they should not be worried that this is final),” he said.
Under its draft Constitution, the Con-com said the President and the Vice President may seek re-election, although Malacañang earlier denied Duterte has plans to stay in office “a second longer.”