There is no constitutional prohibition for a Vice President to succeed as President even if the latter had previously been elected President, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said on Tuesday, Aug. 31.
This was pointed out by Guevarra as he commented on President Duterte’s declaration that he (the President) would run for the post of Vice President in the 2022 national elections.
“That is precisely the role of the Vice President to take over if the elected President dies in office, becomes permanently incapacitated or resigns,” Guevarra said during a virtual event hosted by the Rotary Club of Makati.
“People are expected to understand that that will happen should they vote for a particular person to the position of Vice President,” he said.
The Constitution states: “If the President-elect fails to qualify, the Vice President-elect shall act as President until the President-elect shall have qualified. If a President shall not have been chosen, the Vice President-elect shall act as President until a President shall have been chosen and qualified. If at the beginning of the term of the President, the President-elect shall have died or shall have become permanently disabled, the Vice President-elect shall become President.”
Guevarra reiterated his position that the Constitution does not prevent President Duterte from seeking a lower elective post. He cited former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada who became a congresswoman and a Manila mayor, respectively.
“There is nothing in the wording of our present Constitution that prohibits the sitting President from running for the position of Vice President,” he said.
“What the Constitution expressly prohibits is for him to be reelected and when we speak of reelection we are talking about the same position as what he is currently holding,” he stressed.