OVP abolition in federal set-up an agenda? – Robredo camp

FILE: Vice President Leni Robredo (Photo: VP Leni Robredo/Facebook)

The Vice President’s camp questioned the ruling party’s proposed federal constitution draft, abolishing the Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Sunday.

In a statement, Barry Gutierrez, legal adviser of VP Leni Robredo, emphasized that the Republic had the OVP for 80 years ever since the 1935 Constitution was created.

“The question therefore is, how does abolishing the OVP relate to the establishment of Federalism? Or is the abolition already in service of some other, unstated agenda?” he argued.

According to him, the current proposals by the administration to revise the Constitution to make way for federalism should be anchored to that same purpose – which has nothing to do with the OVP abolition.

“The only time since then that we have had no VP was during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos,” Gutierrez compared.

The legal counselor was reacting to a statement by Bayan Muna former representative Neri Colmenares, also on Sunday.

“Vice President Leni Robredo will be ousted from her office long before her term ends in 2022,” Colmenares said.

He cited the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan’s (PDP-Laban) proposed constitution, alleging that the OVP “will be abolished by 2019 if they succeed in having the new constitution ratified during the 2019 elections.”

“While PDP0Laban may argue that they will not apply this to VP Robredo, this is not expressed in PDP-Laban Constitution since they have refused to divulge their transitory provision,” he added.

Colmenares labeled Robredo as a “lame-duck President” as she will not be listed in the line of succession to President Rodrigo Duterte, further citing Section 7, Article VII of PDP-Laban’s proposed constitution that “the Senate President and the Speaker of the House will succeed the President if needed.”

“The Vice-President is not mentioned at all in the lie of succession because, upon ratification of the new Constitution, her office no longer exists,” Colmenares further said.