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Presidential succession: Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III asks constitutional experts during a public hearing conducted by the Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes Tuesday, June 25, 2024, if the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court could be considered 4th in line in the presidential succession. Pimentel had introduced Senate Bill No. (SBN) 921 otherwise known as the Manner of Selecting an Acting President. Article VII, Section 7 of the Constitution provides that in case both the President and Vice-President have died or become permanently disabled, the President of the Senate shall act as President until a Vice President has been chosen and qualified. If the President of the Senate would be unable to act as President, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives would be the next in line to act as President. The Constitution also mandates Congress to provide for the manner in which one who is to act as President shall be selected in the event that both the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are unable to act as President until a President or a Vice President shall have qualified. Pimentel said Congress has not acted on this mandate for the last 35 years. “There is no right or wrong answer. It is a matter of policy. This is really an attempt to comply with the requirement of the Constitution,” Pimentel said. Lawyer Paolo Tamase opined that appointing the Chief Justice as a successor to the presidency might violate the separation of powers between the judiciary and the executive since the successor should come from the executive branch. In addition, he told Pimentel appointing the Chief Justice would automatically terminate his security of tenure which he is allowed to hold until he reaches the age of 70. (Bibo Nueva España/Senate PRIB)