'Designated Survivor' bill filed

A week after Vice President Sara Duterte explicitly named herself as a "designated survivor", a bill was filed to formally propose a presidential line of succession, which others deemed necessary to avert a leadership vacuum.

Manila Rep. Joel Chua filed the "Presidential Succession Act of 2024" on Wednesday ahead of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s third State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on 22 July.

Duterte previously announced that she would not attend Marcos' SoNA and would appoint herself as "designated survivor."

Her statement, however, has drawn intense criticism from the members of the House, including Chua, who saw it as a threat to the very safety of the President.

In the United States, a "designated survivor" is a role performed by a high government official who would be physically away during the President's State of the Union Address (SoTU).

This longstanding practice ensures the continuity of the presidential line of succession in case a catastrophic event strikes the US House of Representatives during the SoTU.

In his proposal, Chua lamented that Congress must constitutionally appoint an acting president and acting vice president, as mandated in Sections 7 and 8 of Article 7 of the 1987 Constitution.

"This bill implements the constitutional mandate to enact an enabling law on Presidential Succession in case those who are in the line of succession designated in the Constitution are unable to serve in acting capacity," Chua said.

Under Section 7 of the 37-year-old Constitution, "Congress shall, by law, provide for the manner in which one who is to act as President shall be selected until a President or a Vice-President shall have qualified, in case of death, permanent disability, or inability of the officials mentioned in the next preceding paragraph."

Currently, the presidential succession line includes the Vice President, the Senate President, and the House Speaker.

Chua's bill, however, proposed extending the line of succession beyond the Speaker of the House.

In this case, the Supreme Court's chief justice would be the "designated survivor" when the constitutional succession line is exhausted.

Under his bill, the Chief Justice would be the caretaker of the Executive Branch with general supervisory powers to ensure continuity of government and public services until the Senate and the House Speaker are elected by their peers.

The Chief Justice, however, would exercise such powers under very specific circumstances and shall not exercise executive power reserved only to the President of the Philippines as specified in the Constitution and residual powers as provided in various laws of the land.

"The caretaker role is consistent with current practice on caretakers when the President is overseas," Chua explained.

"We chose the Chief Justice because that position commands respect. The caretaker role is temporary because it is there to ensure continuity of government," he added.

Former senator Panfilo Lacson is urging Congress to expedite the passage of the "designated survivor" bill in an attempt to avert a potential "constitutional crisis" once the leaders of the state abruptly died.