Q. No. 3 | Political Law | Suggested Answer | Bar 2023

Q. No. 3 | Political Law | Suggested Answer | Bar 2023

Q. No. 3 | Political Law

“In the 2022 elections, the formidable tandem of Priscilla and Teodoro ran for and won as President and Vice-President, respectively, of the Republic of the Philippines. On her 15th month in office, President Priscilla suddenly resigned due to health reasons, paving the way for Vice-President Teodoro to assume office as President. President Teodoro then nominated incumbent Senator Angel, who was President of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016, to take his place as Vice-President. Voting separately and by the vote of a majority of all the members of both Houses of the Congress, Senator Angel was confirmed, and henceforth assumed office as the Vice-President. In the coming 2028 elections, may both President Teodoro and Vice-President Angel legally run for President of the Philippines? Explain your answer briefly.

Suggested Answer.

No, both Teodoro  and Angel may not legally run for President of the Philippines, applying Article VII Sections 2 to 4 of the 1987 Constitution. 

The said provisions pertinently provide:

“Section 2. No person may be elected President unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and write, at least forty years of age on the day of the election, and a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding such election.

Section 3. There shall be a Vice-President who shall have the same qualifications and term of office and be elected with, and in the same manner, as the President. He may be removed from office in the same manner as the President.

The Vice-President may be appointed as a Member of the Cabinet. Such appointment requires no confirmation.

Section 4. The President and the Vice-President shall be elected by direct vote of the people for a term of six years which shall begin at noon on the thirtieth day of June next following the day of the election and shall end at noon of the same date, six years thereafter. The President shall not be eligible for any re-election. No person who has succeeded as President and has served as such for more than four years shall be qualified for election to the same office at any time.

No Vice-President shall serve for more than two successive terms. Voluntary renunciation of the office for any length of time shall not be considered as an interruption in the continuity of the service for the full term for which he was elected. […]”

Note:

Along with the qualifications listed in Section 2 above, it is important to note the following additional qualifications for running for Philippine President:

(a.) The President shall not be eligible for [any] re-election;

(b.) No person who has succeeded as President [and] has [served] as such for [more than four years] shall be qualified for election to the same office at any time. (Emphasis supplied).

Those examinees who were able to manage and cite the qualifications under Section 2 and the additional requirements under the succeeding sections deserve 5 points.