Benigno Aquino says he may try to change constitution so he can run again
President says he could seek to change constitution so he can run again
Philippine President Benigno Aquino has said he may try to change the constitution and serve a second term in office, a stunning announcement in a nation haunted by dictatorship.
The Philippine constitution restricts presidents to serving a single term of six years, a clause designed to stop a repeat of dictator Ferdinand Marcos' two-decade reign that ended in a 1986 "people power" uprising.
It doesn’t automatically mean I will go after an additional term
Aquino insisted for many years he was against constitutional change and that he would step aside when his term ended in 2016, but in a television interview aired on Wednesday evening he indicated he was reconsidering.
"When I first got into this, I noted I had only one term of six years. Now, after having said that, of course I have to listen to the voice of my bosses," he said on the ABC-5 network.
Aquino, 54, frequently calls Filipinos his "bosses".
The president said he was considering the highly controversial move because he wanted to ensure his political reforms did not end with the conclusion of his first term in office.
Nevertheless, Aquino emphasised that he had made no definite plans to try and stay in power for 12 years.