Should Philippines’ Marcos be ‘on guard’ as Sara Duterte is sworn in early, meets China envoy?
- The VP-elect’s move to take her oath 11 days early, in a ceremony attended by diplomats including China’s ambassador, shows she remains a ‘force’ beyond her office, analysts say
- It comes as President-elect Marcos still faces some Supreme Court cases that may nullify his participation in the election, while some observers have said the alliance between the two looks ‘quite fragile’
Under the 1987 constitution, the vice-president’s function is to serve as an immediate successor if the president dies or becomes incapacitated during the six-year tenure, which always ends at 12pm on June 30.
Because of this, the vice-president is traditionally sworn in minutes “before the president-elect, who takes the oath as close to noon as possible”, historian Manolo Quezon said.
He regarded Duterte-Carpio’s decision to break protocol by taking her oath 11 days early as “a statement … a reminder she is a (political) force”.
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Sara Duterte sworn in early as vice-president of the Philippines
In an indication of her clout, the two-hour ceremony in Davao City was attended by a number of unnamed foreign envoys, including Chinese ambassador Huang Xilian, who had met Duterte-Carpio the day before.