Enrile: 2019 polls can’t be postponed without changing Charter first

Former Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile on Friday dismissed proposals for a no-election scenario in 2019 saying the 1987 Constitution mandates the conduct of nationwide and local polls every three years.

"There can only be a no election if you amend the Constitution. Nobody can postpone it. Because the Constitution establishes the period of electing leaders of the country," Enrile said in an interview with reporters at the Sandiganbayan.

Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez had earlier hinted  at a no-election scenario next year and a possible term extension for President Rodrigo Duterte if the government successfully transitions into a federal one.

Enrile, however, said this can only happen if the people would approve of it and Congress amends the Charter. Only then can elections be postponed and President Rodrigo Duterte's six-year term be extended.

"They (Congress) have to amend the Constitution. Anything is possible if you amend the Constitution. You can change the term, you can postpone the elections. The governing law in all of this is the Constitution. You cannot deviate or detract," Enrile said.

"Anything is possible provided it’s approved by the people. The Constitution is the function of the sovereign people of the republic. It’s not the function of any politician," the former Senate President added.

Enrile declined to further comment on a "no-el" scenario.

"I’m not prepared to say good or not good. You cannot violate the Constitution, you have to apply it for as long as it is not amended," he said.

Charter amendments

Enrile said several provisions of the Charter needs to be amended, such as the "inefficient" form of government, the voting system, and how Congress convenes in joint session.

"There are many things in the Constitution that we have now which ought to be changed. Our form of government is quite inefficient, for one. There are a lot of… even the voting system and several other provisions in the Constitution are quite ambiguous," he said.

"In the case of a joint session of Congress, of the Senate and the House, it is being subjected to debate because the people who drafted the 1987 Constitution were careless," he added.

In his opinion, Enrile said each chamber of Congress must vote separately in case the country decides to undergo a Charter change.

"If I were asked, they have to vote separately. They are two houses, they have two rules, they have two quorums, they have two presiding officers, they have to maintain their distinctiveness," Enrile said. — MDM, GMA News