From 40 to 35: Lawmakers are Pushing to Lower the Eligibility Age for Those Running for President, VP, and Senator
There's yet another proposal to amend the 1987 Constitution, but this time lawmakers are floating the idea to lower the minimum age requirement for Filipinos running for President, Vice President, and senator.
Deputy Speakers Francisco Paolo Ortega, Jefferson Khonghun, Manila District Rep. Ernesto Dionisio, Jr., and Lanao del Sur Rep. Ziaur-Rahman Alonto Adiong filed Resolution of Both Houses No. 2, which seeks to lower the eligible age to 35 years old for presidential and vice presidential candidates, and 30 years old for senatorial candidates. These minimum ages are both five years lower than provided for in the Constitution.
RBH No. 2, which requires approval from both chambers of Congress, is asking to achieve this amendment through a constitutional convention consisting of delegates from senators and congressmen
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The lawmakers, who are part of the so-called “Young Guns” bloc, are pushing for younger public servants and officials because of the necessity to reflect “major demographic and social shifts,” according to the resolution. Based on government statistics, about 52 percent of the country's population is younger than 30 years old.
If the Senate and the House of Representatives adopt the measure, it would pave the way for the constitutional convention, amendments from delegates, and a plebiscite for ratification.
“This reform strengthens youth representation, promotes intergenerational leadership and embodies the spirit of inclusivity, renewal and empowerment of the next generation of leaders,” according to the proposal.
La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega has said the proposal was also inspired by the wave of support for younger, more diligent, and very idealistic lawmakers and local government officials like 36-year-old Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto.
“There is no limit [as] to who would benefit from this resolution,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re not looking at the personalities; we’re looking at the institution to create a more vibrant atmosphere and brand of public service.”
The Return of Cha-cha
There have been previous attempts by lawmakers have to amend the 1987 Constitution to keep up with the times or to spur economic growth. These attempts have ultimately failed due to insufficient public backing as fears of politicking and the abuse of power have kept Filipinos wary of these proposals.
For example, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo once proposed to replace the bicameral Congress with a unicameral legislature. Another prominent push was the stance taken by ex-President Rodrigo Duterte on federalism during his time in office.
Party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin, Jr. filed a resolution seeking to ease foreign ownership limitations in key industries and to bolster the country’ claim in the South China Sea, which would also be decided via a constitutional convention.
Garbin’s proposal would reinforce the country’s 2016 arbitral tribunal win before the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration that voided China’s sweeping nine-dash line claim over most of the South China Sea. The resolution proposed a change to Article 1 of the 1987 Constitution to explicitly include “exclusive economic zone” and “continental shelf” in the definition of national territory.
Manila has failed to enforce this ruling due to Beijing’s vast fishing and coast guard fleet.
Both countries have repeatedly locked horns over the South China Sea, which Beijing claims more than 80 percent of. The waterway is a major trade route with more than $3 trillion worth of goods passing through it.
Two years ago, the Lower House passed a resolution backing a constitutional convention, but inevitably lost support due to the discovery of a signature drive in favor of "cha-cha" or charter change.
“Injecting youth is not a conventional standard for good governance. So, the proponents need to provide evidence to demonstrate their rationale will work for us,” Michael Henry Ll. Yusingco, a constitutionalist, law lecturer, and a senior research fellow of the Ateneo Policy Center, told Esquire Philippines in an interview. “But the proposal makes sense because the electorate is very young. So, we can have a bigger pool of leaders now if age restrictions are lowered.”
The legal expert noted that it would still be difficult for this amendment to materialize due to the widespread public distrust of charter change.
Last year, the Senate looked into proposals to amend economic provisions in the current Charter to spur foreign direct investments in key industries such as education, agriculture, land lease and ownership, public utilities, advertising.
These campaigns to ease restrictions had stalled after senators and congressmen failed to come up with a consensus on how to collectively dissect and decide on these amendments.
The current Charter caps foreign ownership in key industries to 40 percent, with most requiring 60 percent to be Filipino-owned.
“We should remember that it is not enough to be simply gunning for young leaders per se, we need young leaders who has a solid and genuine understanding of sectoral needs and the larger socioeconomic problems of our countrymen,” Hansley Juliano, who teaches political science at Ateneo de Manila University, said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “We should be suspicious of proposals like this that would ultimately necessitate constitutional amendments.
The political expert said that younger officials don’t necessarily mean much as seen in the current discourse on “nepo-babies” and corruption in public office.
These nepo-babies" or children or members of political families and private contractors caught flak for gloating about their living ultra-lavish and ultra-luxurious lifestyles on social media as many Filipinos suffer from deep flooding and severe housing damage.
Lifestyles of pure excess and questionable funding sources on social media were put under a microscope after the government publicized the private contractors who bagged the largest flood control projects.
Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. had ordered a lifestyle check on his officials making good on his promise to crack down on those behind anomalous flood control projects and corruption within the state ranks.
Based on a government review of flood control projects in the past three years, only about 20 percent of these projects, worth about P100 billion, were awarded to only 15 out of 2,409 contractors for both local and national projects.
“The current discourse against nepobaby influencers already shows that it does not matter if you're young if your values are already skewed in favor of privilege,” Juliano said.
