BACOLOR, Pampanga – As part of the ongoing celebration of the 90th anniversary of the Office of the Vice President, a commemorative pop-up exhibit dubbed “EXTRA+ordinary” opened at the auditorium of the Pampanga State University Main Campus here on Jan. 28.
Former president and incumbent Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led the opening of the pop-up exhibits.
In her message, Arroyo said Sara Duterte had the most votes in the country’s history in electing a vice president.
She also said that vice-presidency is very important because it provides a smooth transition of power under the mandate of democracy, noting that that the Philippine vice presidency is more powerful than the American vice presidency because it is mandated in the Philippine Constitution to separately elect a vice president and a president.
According to Arroyo, the Philippine vice president has a direct and exclusive mandate that emanates from the people, that in the history of the country it has shown the importance of vice presidency because out of 15 vice presidents, six of them became presidents such as Sergio Osmena, Elpidio Quirino, Carlos Garcia, her father Diosdado Macapagal, Joseph Estrada, and herself.
She explained that Diosdado and Estrada assumed the presidency by election while four vice presidents assumed by succession.
“Whether by election or by succession, the Filipino accepted it, because they had given him or her a direct and exclusive mandate as duly elected president or as duly elected constitutional successor,” Arroyo said.
Meanwhile, Duterte was not able to attend the event and just sent her video message.
