'GMA to cling to power in case of election failure'

MANILA, Philippines – Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr. claimed yesterday that President Arroyo would most likely hang on to power if there were a failure of elections on May 10 and the winning president and vice president are not proclaimed.

De Venecia told The STAR that there are three scenarios under which Mrs. Arroyo would cling to the presidency with the support of Armed Forces chief Gen. Delfin Bangit and her “loyalists” in the Supreme Court.

“First, there is a military takeover and Gen. Bangit and his classmates from PMA (Philippine Military Academy) Class of 1978, of which Mrs. Arroyo is an adopted member, keep her in power,” he said.

“Second, she holds on to power in the absence of a constitutional successor who can assume the presidency in an acting capacity, that is if there is no Senate president who can take over the job temporarily,” he said.

De Venecia said that in the third scenario, Mrs. Arroyo, who is currently running for representative of Pampanga’s second district, would be elected speaker by her allies ahead of the convening of the 15th Congress on the fourth Monday of July.

“She can then serve as acting president even if she is elected while the incoming 15th Congress is not yet in session because the speaker of the House of Representatives is one of the constitutional successors to the presidency,” he said.

Under the Constitution, Mrs. Arroyo’s successors are Vice President Noli de Castro, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Speaker Prospero Nograles.

However, the terms of office of De Castro, Enrile and Nograles are all expiring on June 30, along with that of Mrs. Arroyo.

No one is left to serve as acting president, unless senators elect a replacement for Enrile from the 12 remaining senators whose term of office ends in 2013. The election should take place when Congress reconvenes on May 31 up to June 4.

De Venecia said there is no justification for the first scenario since the Constitution does not allow a military takeover.

He said the second and third scenarios are also constitutionally questionable since the Charter does not provide for a holdover president and the election of a speaker and Senate president ahead of the convening of Congress.

“But her loyalists in the Supreme Court could justify either of these (scenarios) by reasoning out that it would avoid a vacuum in the presidency. Here is where the importance of the Supreme Court and its next chief justice lies,” he said.

He stressed that with the recent decision of the court to allow Mrs. Arroyo to appoint the incoming chief justice, there is no doubt in his mind that the tribunal would allow her to hold on to power as a holdover president or speaker serving as the nation’s temporary leader.

“How temporary? We don’t know, because the Constitution provides that any of the successors can serve as acting president until the proclamation of the winning president or vice president, or if that is not possible, until new elections are held and the winners are proclaimed,” he said. — With Jerry Botial