Bayan defends calls for Marcos-Duterte resignation

By Juliane Judilla

MANILA — Multi-sectoral group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan has pushed back against claims that calls for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte to resign are unconstitutional or part of a destabilization plot.

In a statement released Nov. 25, Bayan said the call for resignation is “a perfectly legitimate, democratic, and constitutionally contemplated remedy” when top leaders lose the moral authority to govern.

The group cited Article VII, Section 8 of the 1987 Constitution, which recognizes resignation by both the president and vice president as a mode of vacancy that triggers the constitutional line of succession.

“The framers of the Constitution explicitly anticipated situations where a sitting president and vice president may no longer effectively lead the country,” the group said.

“They provided a peaceful, orderly mechanism for this eventuality,” it added.

The group criticized the Marcos administration’s handling of the ongoing flood control corruption scandal, accusing it of offering “token resignations, secretive investigations, political cover-ups”, and attempts to downplay public outrage.

It argued that any progress in uncovering wrongdoing has been driven by public pressure rather than official action.

“In any functioning democracy, when leaders can no longer guarantee honesty, competence, or accountability, they must step aside so the nation can begin to heal and rebuild,” the group said.

Call for National Transition Council

Bayan reiterated its proposal for the creation of a broad-based, civilian-led National Transition Council (NTC).

It described the NTC as a temporary body that would guide the country through what it calls a deepening political crisis.

The group emphasized that the NTC would not be a military junta but a representative civilian council that includes members of the political opposition, workers, farmers, women, youth, the urban poor, national minorities, religious groups, civil society organizations, academics, legal experts, reform-oriented business leaders, and retired law enforcement officials with clean records.

The proposed council would have three major functions: ensuring accountability by independently investigating and prosecuting corruption cases; implementing long-delayed reforms, including the passage of an anti-political dynasty law; and preparing for a clean and credible election through reforms to the Commission on Elections and the establishment of a transparent hybrid election system.

Bayan stressed that the NTC’s mandate would be limited and time-bound, focused on institutional reforms, restoring public trust, and ensuring the next elections are free from dynasty-driven influence, vote-buying, and manipulation.

 

No Destabilization

The group rejected accusations that the push for resignation and a transition council is an attempt to destabilize the government.

It said such demands are “the people’s safeguard against entrenched corruption, dynastic rule and systemic decay.”

“The Constitution anticipated this moment,” Bayan asserted.

“The people are now asserting their sovereign right to demand a government that works for them, not against them,” the group said.