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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Sotto: Proposal to postpone elections is unconstitutional

Sotto: Proposal to postpone elections is unconstitutional

Published Dec 13, 2021 07:28 pm

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III on Monday, Dec. 13 said a petition to postpone the 2022 elections until 2023 is ‘’unconstitutional’’ as there would be a vacuum in the government.

‘’Malabo. There is no provision in the Constitution that will allow a holdover for national officials except for 12 members of the Senate,’’ Sotto, a vice presidential aspirant, said.

In so far as presidential aspirant Senator Panfilo M. Lacson is concerned, ‘’they should read the Constitution.’’

‘’Even the prayer in the petition to extend the term of PRRD (President Duterte) in a holdover capacity is outright unconstitutional,’’ he added.

The one-time six year term of President Duterte expires June 30, 2022.

Senator Joel Villanueva said that the Filipino people’s right too vote is enshrined in the Constitution.

‘’The (COVID-19) pandemic cannot be used as an excuse to deny our people that right. Other countries like Peru were able to have national elections during the pandemic,’’ he stressed.

‘ ’We should be able to do the same,’’ he added.

Owing it to typographical error, the Coalition for Life and Democracy clarified that they only want the 2022 elections to be moved next year, and not suspended until 2025.

The group had filed a petition urging the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to delay the 2022 polls because of the pandemic.

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