Con-com meets after Duterte's 'special request' to bar him from running in 2022

The Consultative Committee (Con-com) that proposed a federal constitution to President Rodrigo Duterte is meeting Tuesday afternoon to iron out how it will accede to his "special request" to bar him from running in the 2022 elections.

The Con-com's original proposal does not explicitly bar Duterte or any other incumbent official from seeking reelection in the 2022 polls should the country have transitioned to a federal form of government with a new Constitution by then.

But Duterte, who approved the Con-com proposal in full except for the transitory provisions, has expressed a supposed desire to step down even before the country transitions at all to federalism.

The incumbent president would be the only sitting official to be explicitly banned from seeking reelection in the Con-com's proposed Constitution as per his "special request," said former Chief Justice Reynato Puno, chair of the Con-com.

"Hindi mo puwedeng pagbawalan 'yung mga opisyales sa '87 Constitution na tumakbo dahil bagong Constitution ito," he told reporters before entering the Con-com meeting room at the Philippine International Convention Center.

This change would be "easy," and would pack no complications, Puno said.

"Ang maraming komplikasyon [ay] kung tatawag ng isang halalan pagkatapos ma-ratify 'yung konstitusyon," he told reporters, referring to Duterte's request for an elected leader — not himself, as originally proposed — to head a possible transition. 

He said the Con-com would carefully consider the consequences of proposing to elect a new president or a transition leader in 2019, the scheduled year of the midterm polls, among other options it would discuss in the meeting.

Puno added that the expected change in its proposal to reflect Duterte's wishes may show his "sincerity" in repeatedly asserting that he does not want to extend his term.

In its transitory provisions, the Con-com's proposal explicitly states that the respective terms of Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo, due to end in 2022, "shall not be extended."

When asked, Puno said Robredo could lead the transition, but suggested it may be incompatible with her current stance against Charter change.

"Kontra sila sa federalism. Papaano siya magiging transition head eh ayaw nila ng federalism? Pero bago nagbago na 'yung isipan kung hindi na tatakbo si Presidente Duterte," he said. —KBK, GMA News