Partial failure of elections can make Speaker Arroyo acting president

Whistleblower Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada on Tuesday reiterated warnings of a partial failure of elections that could allow President Arroyo to extend her term in Malaca ñang.

This can happen in a scenario where the local elections are successful, but the poll machines fail to transmit the results for the national seats, Lozada told Newsbreak on the sidelines of the La Liga Policy institute forum on the credibility of the automated elections.

 

In the said scenario, only the district congressmen and officials of the provincial, city, and municipal governments will be sworn in. There will be no president, vice-president, 12 new senators, and party-list representatives.

The country’s succession law provides that when there is no sitting president, the Vice-President, Senate President, and the House Speaker will become Acting President, respectively.

On June 30, there will only be 12 senators left. The number includes senators Panfilo Lacson and Antonio Trillanes, who may not be able to attend session immediately. The term of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile would have expired. It means the Senate won’t have the quorum to elect a replacement.

Meanwhile, if all the district congressmen were sworn, they will have the quorum to elect the House Speaker who can become the Acting President.

President Arroyo is running for the 2nd district of Pampanga. Lakas-Kampi officials have been quoted saying they want her to become Speaker in the next Congress.

Lozada has been speaking in forums to push for the Open Election System. He wants to keep the voting and local canvassing manual. Only the transmission of results in the national posts will be automated.

Meanwhile, Libertas executive director Roberto Cadiz told Newsbreak that Lozada’s hypothesis could happen "in theory" although it is improbable.

“A lot of things have to simultaneously transpire before that can happen, which is very improbable,” Cadiz told Newsbreak in a text message.

“In short, that can only happen if the Comelec (Commission on Elections) conspires with Malacañang to make it happen,” he added.

Libertas is a legal group focusing on civil rights and election-related laws.

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