‘Designated survivor’ bill also filed at the House

A House bill has been filed seeking to grant the president the power to designate his or her own successor in the event that the chief executive, the Vice President, the Senate President and the House Speaker die or become unable to fill in for the position.

Quezon City Representative Precious Hipolito Castelo has filed House Bill 4062, to be known as the "Presidential Succession Act," which is similar to the measure filed by Senator Panfilo Lacson in the Senate.

In the explanatory note of the bill, Castelo pointed out that during the annual State of the Nation Address of the President, numerous ranking government officials, including the Vice President, the Senate President and House Speaker are present in one venue.

She said that no matter how strong and strict the security is during the SONA, there is always a chance that a tragedy can happen.

The 1987 Constitution provides that if the President dies, resigns, is removed from office, or becomes incapacitated to occupy the position, the Vice President fills in, followed by the Senate President and House Speaker.

"However, in the unlikely chance that all of these officials become unavailable to fill in the role of the President, our supreme law does not provide a rule. During SONA, or during any other assembly where these officials are gathered, the probability of this happening becomes greater," Castelo said.

Castelo said a practice is being done in the United States to keep a "designated successor" away from similar gatherings in order to ensure that someone will take over the presidency in case an unfortunate event happens killing the President and his successors.

"Since our Constitution does not provide for the same rule, we can only imagine how tragic the outcome will be in case the unthinkable happens," she added.

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.

The premise of Castelo's bill is similar to that of the popular Netflix series "Designated Survivor." Set in a fictional United States, the series tells the story of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Tom Kirkman, a "designated successor," who was shot to the presidency after an explosion kills the US president and all those present in the State of the Union Address. — RSJ, GMA News