Designated survivor bill filed at Senate
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2019 08:55:44 +0000
Sen. Ping Lacson has filed Senate Bill No. 892 granting the President the power to appoint a successor in case the Chief Executive and the three officials in the constitutional line of succession are killed in an event.
Lacson said he filed the bill, which he said is somewhat inspired by the Netflix series “Designated Survivor,” after noticing that the Constitution’s provision regarding line of succession stops at the Speaker of the House.
“And I noticed during the State-of-the-Nation Address, everybody is there practically. The President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House is there. They must attend. So knock on wood, if ever there is an extremist or terrorist who might think of bombing the Batasang Pambansa and everyone else is killed, we have no successor,” Lacson said.
Lacson in filing Senate Bill No. 982 seeks to guarantee the continuity and stability of operations in government in case of a terrorist attack, major disaster, or other “exceptional circumstances” where the President and those specified in the Constitution to succeed him or her are killed or permanently disabled.
The senator said the bill seeks to ensure that the Office of the President would not be left vacant in the event of death, permanent disability, removal from office, or in case the acting president resigns.
Lacson also said the bill “seeks to provide an exhaustive line and order of presidential succession in the event of death, permanent disability, removal from office, or resignation of the acting president to ensure that the office of the President is never vacated even in exceptional circumstances.” (Hannah L. Torregoza)
Asked how long the acting president will stay, Lacson said his administration may last until such time the next presidential election is held.
“Or we may limit the period, puwede sa provision ng magiging batas, mag-designate ng six months halimbawa first SoNA so meron pang five years para hindi acting president will act as president for five years. Puwede ilimit ‘yan, this will be subject to further deliberations,” he said.
At present, the line of presidential succession is the Vice President, Senate President, and House Speaker, as provided for in the 1987 Constitution.
Under the bill, in case of death or permanent disability of those specified in the Constitution, the following elected and appointed officers who are not under any disability to discharge the powers and duties of the Office of the President shall act as president in the following order:
– The most senior senator, based on the length of service in the Senate.
– The most senior representative based on the length of service in the House of Representatives.
– The member of the Cabinet designated by the President.
The measure also stipulates that before any public or private activity, event, or function with the attendance of the President, Vice President, and ranking officials, the President shall designate a member of the Cabinet to be sequestered in a secret and secure location. (Hannah L. Torregoza)