Written by Daisy Brett-Holt | 31 January 2012

Dear Readers,

We have just launched an ONLINE PETITION to "Protect PNoy and Future Presidents of the Philippines and Keep an Independent Judiciary" for which we need 10,000,000 signatures to put pressure on the Members of Congress to amend Article Vlll Sec. 4(3) of the present Constitution. Please take a few minutes to sign the petition and show you care for our country.  Anyone may sign as long as they are Filipinos or were once Filipinos and now have other Nationalities.  What is important is you care and still care for our country.

A similar petition is being done as a signature campaign for those without an internet connection.

Below is the text of the petition.  This flaw in the Constitution was discovered by Roman Rama Guerrero, Coordinator, KPI (Mindanao).  We owe our deepest gratitude to him.

Protect PNoy and Future Presidents of the Philippines
and Keep an Independent Judiciary

Philippine Jury Initiative (UK) and Katarungang Pansambayanan Inc (PH) are calling on every concerned citizen, PNoy’s “Boss” and members of Congress to review and scrutinize Article Vll of the 1987 Constitution.

Article Vll Sec. 4 states that:

“No person who has succeeded as President and has served for more than 4 years shall be qualified for election to the same office at any time.”

The Provisions of the current Article Vll Sec. 4 and Sec. 8 are the following:

• The President and Vice-President shall be elected by direct vote of the people for a term of six years which shall begin on the 30^th of June following the election and end on the same date, six years thereafter.
• The President shall not be eligible for any re-election.
• No person who has succeeded as President and has served as such for more than 4 years shall be qualified for election to the same office at any time.
• In case of death, permanent disability, removal from office, or resignation of the President, the Vice-President shall become the President to serve the unexpired term.

What makes Article Vll  erroneous and absurd?

• It allows the Vice President to qualify as President and take over the presidency by the 25^th month in office of the sitting President, which is the 30^th June 2012 for President Aquino.  This exposes the sitting President to the possibility of political manoeuvrings that will destabilize the government and the country.  All future presidents will have the same problem unless this error is corrected.
• The successor-President can serve the remaining 4 years or less (but not more) of the sitting President’s term of office and then qualify for election as President for another 6 years!
• It is absurd that the 1973 Constitution and upheld by the 1987 Constitution, discarded the maximum 8 years term of office for the President as provided for by the 1935 Constitution but allows the term of office of the successor-President to a maximum of 10 years!

Article Vll Sec 4 should be modified to:

“No person who has succeeded as President and has served in that capacity for any length of time to complete the term of his predecessor shall qualify immediately after the said term for election to the same office.”

There are three other solutions to this problem, namely:

1. 1. Bring back the 4-year term of office of the President with the possibility of re-election for another term for a maximum of 8 years as provided for in the 1935 Constitution.
2. 2. The Presidential nominee chooses his running mate for the Vice-Presidency as is done in the US presidential elections.  The vote for the President is the vote for the Vice-President.
3. 3. Adopt both of the above.

We, at PJI and KPI, are therefore calling on every concerned citizen TO SIGN THIS PETITION so that  the members of Congress would initiate moves to suspend or restrain the implementation of the said Article Vll  thereby prevent the repeat of what has happened during the Arroyo’s takeover of the Estrada Presidency.

Inaction now will lead to:

• Destabilization of the government, in particular and the country, in general due to political machinations, like the unseating of a President through a 'certain process' said to be "legal, non-violent and non-bloody" as in an impeachment;
• Loss of independence of the Judiciary as proven by GMA’s packing of the Supreme Court with all her appointees, who churn out rulings largely favourable to her.
• An uneven playing field in the 2016 Presidential election because the then successor-President shall be able to use all the powers and resources of the Office of the President to the detriment of the other presidential candidates. 

So Help Us God.

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION HERE