4-year term with one reelection for President, other gov’t officials proposed

The Subcommittee on the Structure of the Federal Government of the Consultative Committee to Review the 1987 Constitution proposed a four-year term with one reelection for government officials.

Subcommittee Chair Antonio Eduardo Nachura, a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, on Thursday said the proposal covers the President, vice president, senators and congressmen.

Also, the subcommittee recommended that the current constitutional provision requiring candidates to simply be able to read and write be changed to requiring them to have a college degree.

The subcommittee also recommended tandem voting for the President and vice president where “a vote for the President will be counted for his or her vice president,” who will be coming from the same political party or ticket.

The vice president’s appointment to the Cabinet is also recommended to be made mandatory.

In case the position of the vice president becomes vacant due to death, resignation or removal, the President shall appoint a replacement from one of his party mates at the Senate or the House of Representatives. Such appointment will no longer require a confirmation from Congress.

Under the present Constitution, the Senate and the House of Representatives must vote separately on the President’s nomination.

The subcommittee also recommended that senators be elected by region. It has not yet been decided how many federated regions will be created but the number of senators per region may be between two and four.

It was also recommended that members of the House of Representatives be elected by legislative district and by proportional representation.

Under the proportional representation, voters will vote for a party or organization, which will then choose sectoral representatives from the labor, peasant, fisherfolk, indigenous people and urban poor sectors.

Nachura clarified that although some of these recommendations have been agreed in principle, these are all still proposals which will be discussed by the con-com en banc on Monday. —KG, GMA News