Rep. Castelo withdraws ‘Presidential Succession’ bill

Quezon City Representative Precious Hipolito Castelo on Sunday withdrew a measure that would grant the President the power to designate his or her successor from the Cabinet in case the chief executive and the three constitutional successors are unable to fill the position.

Castelo withdrew the bill after screenshots of her measure, which was filed back in August 2019, went viral on social media over the weekend.

In an August 30 letter addressed to House Secretary-General Jose Luis Montales, Castelo said she was respectfully requesting for the withdrawal and permanent archiving of House Bill 4062, or the proposed "Presidential Succession Act."

According to Castelo, she is withdrawing her bill to erase the impression that she was ignoring the line of succession to the presidency, which includes the Vice President, the Senate President, and the House Speaker.

“That is not so, far from it. The bill does not remove the line of succession. I am for respecting that provision of the Constitution and the line of succession to the highest office,” she said in a statement after sending the letter to Montales.

Under Castelo's bill, in case there is a gathering where the President, Vice President, Senate President, and House Speaker are all present, the chief executive is allowed to delegate a successor from among his Cabinet officials who will take over the presidency in the event that the President and his successor dies or becomes incapacitated to do so.

The "delegated successor" will be kept in a secure and undisclosed location during the gathering.

"The appointment of the delegated successor shall be pro hac vice and shall be limited to the circumstances under which it is made. The appointment shall be of no effect in case the President and/or any of his Constitutional successor survive the occasion or gathering," the bill read.

Senator Panfilo Lacson filed a similar bill in the Senate.  — DVM, GMA News