FEW OF THE ways we can keep in touch these days are thru video conferencing, online hearings, and virtual meetings. These are the consequences brought to us by the pandemic. We need to shift from our normal face-to-face meetings to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.
Due to this, people fuss what will happen during the 2022 Philippine elections. Is online voting feasible? If not, are we ready and prepared to go personally to the precinct and casts our votes?
People think too much about this. I hope they didn’t forget that in a year ahead of us, they will be giving powers and responsibilities to the candidates. A great responsibility and privilege is given to them. Thus, it is high time for them to know not only the candidates themselves but the qualifications, powers, and responsibilities these elected officials must possess.
Next year, we will elect a new president, a new vice president, 12 senators, district congressmen and congresswomen, party-list organizations, and provincial, city, and municipal officials.
In this article, I will be discussing the qualifications, powers, and responsibilities of the president and vice president because these are the highest officials on the list.
The president has a term of office of six years. It will start at noon of June 30 immediately following election day. He or she is not eligible for reelection. He or she must be a natural-born Filipino, a registered voter, is able to read and write, 40 years old by the day of the election, a resident of the Philippines for 10 years before the election, and must not have succeeded as president and held that office for more than four years.
He or she acts as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. He issues executive orders, administrative orders, and proclamations. He appoints heads of executive departments, ambassadors, military officials, and members of the Judicial and Bar Council, members of the Supreme Court and lower courts as well as chairpersons of the constitutional commissions.
The president may suspend the writ of habeas corpus, but only to persons charged with rebellion or directly connected with invasion. He or she may place the Philippines, whether in whole or in part, under martial law. Approval of the Congress is required on this matter. He or she may grant amnesties and reprieves. He or she may issue pardons and remit fines or forfeitures after a judgment has been passed.
He or she may either approve or veto all bills passed by Congress.
He can vacate his position due to reasons of death, permanent disability, removal from office, or resignation.
The vice president has the same term of office with that of the president. He or she has also the same qualifications with that of the latter. However, he or she is eligible for one reelection.
He or she assumes the position of the president in the event the office becomes vacant. Once this happens, he or she must nominate a replacement vice president with the approval of the Commission on Appointments.
He or she can be a member of the Cabinet without confirmation from the Commission on Appointments. He or she also serves as an executive committee member in the National Security Council.
The qualifications, powers, and responsibilities of the president and vice president are embodied in the 1987 Philippine Constitution under Article VII – Executive Department and Administrative Code of 1987.
They say that election is everybody’s business. Thus, everyone should be involved. Sometimes we are too focused on the future (next year) that we forget to think about the present which is to carefully scrutinize who will govern the country next. You should be prepared – intellectually./PN
