April 10, 2016, 9:52 a.m. – THE VICE PRESIDENT is not just a “spare tire.”
According to Dennis Coronacion, chairman of the University’s political science department, the vice president “must be of the same caliber, same qualifications, and leadership skills as the president.”
“The position is a ‘reserve’ but that doesn’t mean you don’t take the vice president’s qualifications seriously,” Coronacion said in an interview. “We should treat the vice president the same way we treat the president.”
According to the 1987 Constitution, the vice president must “have the same qualifications and term of office and be elected with, and in the same manner, as the President.”
Article VII, Section 3 of the 1987 Constitution states that the vice president must be:
- at least forty years of age on the day of election, and
- a natural-born citizen of the Philippines,
- a registered voter,
- able to read and write,
- a resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years immediately preceding such election.
Coronacion pointed out that the vice president is just a heartbeat away from the presidency. He or she must take over in case of the president’s serious physical disability or death.
The vice president also has the privilege of being appointed to a cabinet position without going through confirmation by the Commission on Appointments. Previously elected presidents and vice presidents often did not come from the same political party. This is because in the Philippines, they are elected separately, unlike in the United States where the two run as a single ticket. Therefore the president and vice president may have different stances on issues. “We see them as separate individuals, not as teammates,” Coronacion said. Monica M. Hernandez
