Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel III joined the chorus of voices expressing disapproval of Vice President Sara Duterte’s remarks about appointing herself as the “designated survivor.”
“Sana hindi niya ginawa iyon sa context ng SONA. Sana hindi niya ginamit ‘yun na joke. Hindi magandang joke ‘yun,” Pimentel said in an interview with radio station DWIZ recently.
The veteran legislator said the concept of a “designated survivor” is more commonly associated with the United States’ State of the Union address, where a designated official is kept at a secure location in case of a catastrophic event.
“In the Philippines, the Constitution appoints the Vice President as the designated successor.”
In the Philippines, the seasoned lawmaker said, the Constitution appoints the Vice President as the designated successor.
“They are mixing it with showbiz because there’s a famous TV series called Designated Survivor,” the senator pointed out.
The hit Netflix series “Designated Survivor” follows the story of a low-level US Cabinet official who becomes President of the United States after a catastrophic bombing during the State of the Union address kills everyone ahead of him in the line of succession.
Still, Pimentel believes the joke is inappropriate, especially with the upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA).
“I am confident the joke won’t impact the attendees of the SONA.”
He, however, expressed confidence that the joke won’t impact the attendees of the SONA.
Pimentel is the author of Senate Bill No. 921 that tackles the rule of succession in the event a worse thing transpired against the top elected leaders of the country.
He underscored the importance of his proposed legislation, which he believes is critical for ensuring a clear line of succession in the event of a disaster that incapacitates the top government officials.
“If both the President and the Vice President are wiped out, it’s the Senate President. If all three are wiped out, it’s the Speaker of the House. But if all four are wiped out at the same time, and no one can act as President, there needs to be a law. That’s why I have a proposed law to address that scenario,” Pimentel said.
He expressed hope that his bill would be approved before the 19th Congress ends next year.
