THE oath of office of the President of the Philippines, prescribed by Philippine Constitution since 1935, has remained essentially unchanged: “I do solemnly swear [or affirm] that I will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties as President [or Vice- President or Acting President] of the Philippines, preserve and defend its Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every man, and consecrate myself to the service of the Nation. So help me God.”
By 12:00 noon of June 30, 2016, the Honorable Rodrigo Roa-Duterte, President-elect of the Philippines, should be administered the Oath of Office by the Assistant Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Bienvenido L. Reyes. The bible on which he places his left hand is to be held by his youngest daughter Veronica “Kitty” Duterte.
The inauguration of Duterte as the 16th President of the Republic of the Philippines takes place at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall of the Malacañang Palace in Manila.
Inaugurations—swathed in pomp and circumstance, solemnity and ceremony—signal the assumption of the President’s stewardship of the nation that put him in power. Here, the President comes into his or her role of power-and-servitude; transition of governance is formalized with all the accouterments of state; there occurs an affirmation of the mandate granted by the Filipino people.
Just simple
THE first Mindanawon president insisted on having a simple and meaningful inauguration—and one that will not cause any traffic jams in the vicinity of the venue. That’s why he has chosen to hold it at the Rizal Hall instead of the Palace grounds or the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta Park where most inaugurations took place.
To ensure that no traffic jam is created in the vicinity of Malacañang, only diplomats have been allowed to bring their own cars. Other guests have been asked to undergo security check and park their cars at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). From there they are expected to be brought in busses to the Palace.
Speaking to members of the press on June 22, incoming presidential communications secretary Martin Andanar and incoming presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella gave details of the inauguration. According to him, the program will last from 10:30 a.m. to around 3 p.m.
The day of the inauguration will start at 10:30 a.m., where Duterte will be welcomed by outgoing President Benigno Aquino III.
“The program will start at 10:30 in the morning, the president should be there by 10:30 in the morning. The outgoing president should be the one welcoming the president, and inside the reception hall, the outgoing president should be giving the incoming president the guest book where the incoming president will sign and then afterwards both of them will step out of the Palace and will give the departure honors for the outgoing president,” Andanar said.
Three days before the inauguration, AmbassadorMarcianoPaynor, headofthe Palace Inaugural Committee, disclosed some details of the presidential inaugural.
The program is expected to last for only two hours. “From noon where he takes his oath, he gives his speech and after that he swears in all of those he appointed as officials in his Cabinet and the other sub-Cabinet levels, and after that the program is finished, around 1:30 p.m.”
After the inauguration, Duterte will meet with diplomats during the diplomatic reception.
“The diplomatic reception is another tradition and aspect of the inauguration which allows diplomats to convey to the new president the greetings and felicitations of their respective heads of state, heads of government.
“They will be introduced and then after that, the dean of the diplomatic corps will offer a toast for the new president,” Paynor said.
Just like with his appointed Cabinet officials, only the ambassadors will be allowed to attend the event. Their respective spouses will not be invited. “Only the ambassadors are invited because this is the limitation of space,” Paynor said. The venue can only accommodate up to 600 persons as reported.
Despite the simplicity of the event, Paynor said they will ensure that it will remain elegant, especially in terms of the movement of the people attending the event.
“Simplicity, I think, from his point of view is doing away with the traditional ceremonies, like the ones in the civic-military parade, etcetera. So this time, it will all just be in the Palace, so this will be a two-hour event, so it’s actually… the elegance there is, especially as the cameras are concerned, the movements are well executed. No photobombers, etcetera,” he said.
Limited space for the press
THE inauguration venue is off-limits to media. Due to limited space, journalists are not allowed inside the Rizal Hall. Media outfits will have to rely on the live feed and video to be provided by Radio TV Malacañang (RTVM), the in-house presidential videographer while accredited journalists can monitor the proceedings and work from the nearby New Executive Building, which houses the Press Working Area.
Andanar said the arrangement is not intended to limit access to media covering the incoming administration.
“Masikip sa loob ng Rizal Hall. Hindi siya ganoon kalaki ang espasyo. There are 627 guests inside the Rizal Hall. From 500, it jumped to 627 guests. Ang atin namang mga kasamahan sa RTVM ay sanay naman sa broadcast pool. I don’t think you will have a difficult time,” he said.
He is also not ruling out the possibility of Duterte granting interviews to journalists during his term. “Six years ang presidency. I don’t think na ’yung president naman ay hindi kayo kakausapin. Kasi kung matatandaan niyo, doon sa Cebu nakausap naman siya ng GMA, nakausap naman siya ng ABS-CBN,” he said.