Press Release
November 20, 2008

Pimentel says lifting of term limits frowned upon by the people

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today dared lawmakers advocating the lifting of term limits on elective public officials to formalize their proposal into a corresponding resolution instead of riding on Joint Senate Resolution 10 on the adoption of a federal system of government to pursue their dubious scheme.

Pimentel said that Resolution 10, of which he is principal author, is primarily intended to lay down the constitutional framework for the establishment a federal system and it has nothing to do whatsoever with the extension of term or removal of the term limits of elective officials.

He vowed to oppose any amendment to the Constitution that will circumvent the constitutional ban against the reelection of an incumbent president that will benefit President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

"If they wish to pursue the proposal to lift the term limits or extend the term of public officials, they should put it in a resolution of their own. Then we can debate it openly. But I cannot see how such a self-serving and distasteful proposition will have the stamp of congressional approval," the minority leader said.

Pimentel said there is no way he will allow Malacanang and its lackeys in Congress to cash in on Resolution 10 to pursue their hidden agenda of lifting the term limits because that is bound to destroy the chances of the federalism proposal to be approved by the people if and when it is submitted to them in a plebiscite.

He said the incessant efforts of Malacanang to push for a scheme to enable President Arroyo stay in power beyond 2010 smack of a callous attitude and insensitivity to public pulse as expressed in the consistent negative public approval rating she is getting in various public opinion surveys.

Pimentel said that when Press Secretary Jess Dureza mentioned the extension of the President's term in his prayer at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, it was obvious that it was intended to be a trial balloon to get the public reaction to the proposal.

What Dureza did, he said, was done in bad taste and the height of insensitivity to the will of the people as manifested in several public pulse surveys in the recent past.

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