Designated survivor bill filed in House

A week after Vice President Sara Duterte explicitly named herself the “designated survivor,” a bill formally proposing a presidential line of succession was filed in the House of Representatives.

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 had announced that she would not be attending Marcos’ SoNA but would appoint herself as the “designated survivor.”

Her statement, however, drew strong criticism from the members of the House, including Chua, who saw it as a threat to the safety of the President.

In the United States, a “designated survivor” is a ranking government official who would be physically away during the President’s State of the Union Address (SoTU).

The 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 said it was imperative that Congress constitutionally appoint an acting president and acting vice president, which he said is mandated under Sections 7 and 8 of Article 7 of the 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.

Section 7 of the Constitution reads: “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, in the presidential line of succession are the Vice President, the Senate President, and the House Speaker, who are all normally present when the President delivers his SoNA.

Chua’s bill proposes that the line of succession be extended beyond the Speaker of the House.

In that case, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court 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 President 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.

“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.