2019 elections pushes through unless Constitution is amended — Palace

FILE: Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque (PCOO PHOTO)

Malacañang clarifies on Wednesday that there will be no cancellation of 2019 midterm elections unless the 1987 Constitution is amended ahead of the schedule.

During a Palace briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that President Rodrigo Duterte only depends on the Constitution on matters like this.

“The President always looks to the Constitution as his guiding document. The Constitution sets the date for the next elections in 2019,” Roque said.

“Unless the Constitution is amended, which includes being ratified by the people prior to the date set in the Constitution, elections will have to push through,” he added.

According to the Constitution, there are 12 senators to be elected in May 2019 since the terms of 12 incumbent senators will end that year.

The Palace official’s statement comes after House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, on Wednesday morning, said there is a possibility that the 2019 elections will be called off if the Philippines successfully transitions into a federal form of government.

In an interview on ANC’s Headstart, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said convening Congress into a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) that would work on the amendment of the Constitution and ultimately, the shift to federalism, would be the House of Representatives’ 2018 top priorities.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, however, said that the no-election is not an “either-or” situation.

“That is not an either-or situation. We can shift to federalism and allow all scheduled elections under the existing Constitution to go on and be held,” Pimentel said.

“Before we can operate under a new Constitution, the provisions of the existing Constitution must be followed. Hence, if there are scheduled elections under the existing Constitution, then this must be followed,” he added.