{"id":270149,"date":"2020-09-28T06:32:51","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T10:32:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=270149"},"modified":"2020-09-28T06:32:51","modified_gmt":"2020-09-28T10:32:51","slug":"duterte-not-interested-in-extending-term-beyond-2022-palace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/09\/28\/duterte-not-interested-in-extending-term-beyond-2022-palace\/","title":{"rendered":"Duterte not interested in extending term beyond 2022: Palace"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte at the Malago Clubhouse in Malaca\u00f1ang on July 30, 2020. ROBINSON NI\u00d1AL JR.\/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 President Rodrigo Duterte is not interested in extending his term beyond 2022, contrary to speculations that calls to suspend the 2022 elections were made for his benefit, Malaca\u00f1ang said on Monday.<\/p>\n

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said delaying the elections \u201ccan never be an option\u201d for Malaca\u00f1ang unless the 1987 Constitution is amended.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe President is not interested in extending his term and he leaves it to the Filipino people, the sovereign people to decide if they want to amend the Constitution to suspend elections,\u201d he said in a virtual Palace briefing.<\/p>\n

Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Mikey Arroyo earlier asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to consider postponing the 2022 elections amid fears of transmission of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).<\/p>\n

Roque said the Comelec already announced that it is considering a \u201cmodified\u201d form of elections with \u201cless physical contact\u201d as a preventive measure against Covid-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder the situation\u00a0po, mukhang ang magbabago yung paraan kung paano mangampanya pero patuloy po ang eleksyon<\/em>\u00a0(it looks like what\u2019s going to change is the way, by which campaigns are done but elections will push through),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also floated the possibility that Comelec may support the proposal to allow a vote by mail option for senior citizens and persons with disabilities to safeguard them from the highly-infectious disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision lies with the Comelec…Baka po<\/em>\u00a0(Perhaps), for the first time,\u00a0baka makonsidera \u2018yan ng ating<\/em>\u00a0(it may be considered by the) Comelec,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Roque also rejected assumptions that the House speakership row is related to calls to postpone the 2022 elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cWala pong kinalaman \u2018yan sa kahit na anong<\/em>\u00a0postponement of elections\u00a0kasi nga po nasa Saligang Batas \u2018yan (<\/em>It has nothing to do with the postponement of elections because it\u2019s in the Constitution). Unless we can amend the\u00a0Saligang Batas<\/em>\u00a0(Constitution) on or before elections, it will have to be scheduled on the date specified on our Constitution,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Last month, Palace also dismissed suspicions that Duterte has plans of extending his years in office following pro-Duterte groups’ call to establish a revolutionary government.<\/p>\n

Duterte as well as top government officials have publicly rejected the proposal to establish a revolutionary government, stressing the need to prioritize the ongoing health crisis.<\/p>\n

China-based social media accounts<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roque downplayed China’s potential role in the 2022 elections in the Philippines following reports that China-based fake social media accounts expressed support for Duterte and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte\u2019s possible presidential bid in the upcoming polls.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been a strong adherent for freedom of expression and the free marketplace of ideas.\u00a0At ang Pilipino naman po napakatalino na natin, hindi po lahat ng nababasa sa<\/em>\u00a0Facebook\u00a0ay pinaniniwalaan<\/em>\u00a0(And Filipinos, we\u2019re intelligent enough to know that we should not believe everything we read on Facebook),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Facebook earlier took down two disinformation networks: one with alleged links to the Philippine military and police, and another originating from Fujian, a province on the southeastern coast of China.<\/p>\n

Both were flagged for \u201ccoordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB)\u201d, specifically for potentially engaging in foreign or government interference.<\/p>\n

Vice President Leni Robredo earlier questioned China’s alleged hand in the 2022 elections, warning that social media interference may pose threats to the country’s sovereignty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 President Rodrigo Duterte is not interested in extending his term beyond 2022, contrary to speculations that calls to suspend …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":263618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,54365,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-270149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-instagram","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-azer-parrocha","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270149"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":270150,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270149\/revisions\/270150"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}