Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No.8 84 1

Introduced by BAYAN MUNA.
Reps. NERI J. COLMENARES and CARLOS ISAGANI ZARATE,

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR A SYSTEM OF INTERIM SUCCESSION FOR THE POSITION
OF PRESIDENT IN THE EVENT THAT THERE IS FAULURE OF ELECTIONS
FOR THE POSITION OF PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT AND THE
SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HAVE YET TO ELECT
‘THEIR PRESIDENT AND SPEAKER, RESPECTIVELY, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Just like nature, power hates a vacuum, and, as in natural vacuum, once a power vacuum exists a
host of power-seeking forces will rush in to fill the void.

‘There is a possible vacuum in the Office of the President should the automated election system
administered by the COMELEC tesult in a failure to elect the President, Vice President and
Members of Congress. Article VII, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution provides for the
on of the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives in that
lure to elect the President or Vice-President, to wit:

suce
order, in case there is fa

Where no President or Vice President shall have been chosen or shall have qualified or where
both shall have died or become permanently disabled, the President of the Senate or, in case of his
inability, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall act as President until a President or
«a Viee President shall have been chosen and qualified.

‘The above provision, however, does not contemplate a situation where there is a general failure
of the national elections. Should there be massive and national brown outs, or a debilitating and
fatal virus attack on or widespread hacking of the automated election system, or a complete
breakdown of the automated national elections, there is that realistic possibility that no
President, Vice President or member of Congress is elected in the upcoming automated
elections. Even if the Senate is “continuing body” the twelve remaining senators cannot elect the
President of the Senate as they no longer constitute the majority of the members of the Senate
thereby creating a vacuum that could lead the country into a major political crisis and disorder is
very likely to follow suit



‘The Administrative Code cannot be the source of guidance since it does not contemplate a grant
of authority to the incumbent President to rule the country in a holdover capacity.

It is, therefore, imperative on the part of Congress to make sure that no such vacuum exist
should there be failure to elect national officials in any national clection by designating the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court to succeed in case of a situation when there is no President, Vice
President, Senate President, or Speaker of the House of Representatives in position,

‘The urgent and immediate passage of this bill is therefore earnestly sought

Bayan Muna Party-List



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon Ci

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS

First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No.8 841.

Introduced by Introduced by BAYAN MUNA
Reps. NERI J. COLMENARES and CARLOS ISAGANI I’. ZARA

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR A SYSTEM OF INTERIM SUCCESSION FOR THE POSITION
OF PRESIDENT IN THE EVENT THAT THERE IS FAILURE OF ELECTIONS
FOR THE POSITION OF PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT AND THE,
SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HAVE YET TO ELECT
‘THEIR PRESIDENT AND SPEAKER, RESPECTIVELY, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

SECTION 1. Title. — ‘This Act shall be known as the “Interim Succession Act”.

SECTION 2, Declaration of Policy, ~ It is the declared policy of the State to ensure the
smooth transition of power and to guarantee that governance is discharged orderly in the event
that there is failure of electing the position of President and Vice-President or any other situation
not contemplated under Article VII, Section 7, of the Constitution.

SECTION 3. Succession. — ‘The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall act as the Interim
President of the Republic of the Philippines in the event that there is failure of election for the
position of President and Vice-President, and the Senate and the House of Representatives are
tunable to elect their President and Speaker, respectively by the time that the term of office of the
incumbent President shall have ended, or in any other situation where no succession could take
place as contemplated under Sections 7 and 8 of Article VIL of the Constitution.

SECTION 4. Inapplicability of the Constitutional provision on Succession. ~ Should the
situation referred in Article 3 of this Act take place such as the failure of clections for President,
Vice-President, Senators and Congressmen, the Chief Justice, as Interim President, shall continue
to serve as such until after an election is held and the President, Vice-President, Senators, and
Congressmen are elected and qualified.

‘The Chief Justice, as Interim President, shall call for a special election not later than three (3)
months for the position of President, Vice-President, Senators, and Congressmen after assuming
the interim position. ‘The incumbent President shall not be qualified to tun for reelection in the
said special elections. Upon election and qualification of the President, the Chief Justice, as
Interim President, shail relinquish the Presidency immediately after the President and Vice-
President shall have been sworn into office and revert to his former position as Chief Justice
unless his term have lapsed due to retirement.



In the event that the term of the Chief Justice lapsed duting his incumbency as Interim
President, he shall continue to serve as such until a President and Vice-President shall have been
sworn into office.

Notwithstanding the date of his or her assumption into office, the term of office of the President
elected in the special elections above-described shall be deemed to have started from the end of
the term of the preceding President and shall end at noon on the thirtieth day of June six years
thereafter, as provided under Section 4, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution. Thereafter, he or
she shall no longee be eligible to run for reelection.

SECTION 5. Interim Period, ~ During the interim period, the Chief Justice as Interim
President shall be stripped of his duties in the Judiciary. ‘The most senior justice of the Supreme
Court shall, for purposes of this Act, assume the office of the Chief Justice for the interim
period. Provided that, in the event that the term of the Chief Justice expired during the interim
period, the manner provided by the Constitution for the appointment of the Chief Justice shall

apply.

SECTION 6. Effectivity. — Unis Act shall take effect thirty (30) days after its publication in a
newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,