Former Chief Executives of the country may have ended their term in office but social functions and advocacies inevitably continue beyond their retirement.
According to Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, this is the rationale behind a measure he introduced in the Senate that seeks to give former presidents additional benefits and privileges.
A former President, he said, only ended his term but not his post-presidential duties such as meeting with foreign and local dignitaries, attending public events or other social engagements, and even entertaining those seeking assistance or advice.
“Once you are a President, you will always be a president. That means, your heart is still in public service,” Go said in a television interview Tuesday.
He cited the case of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who still gets requests for courtesy calls from ambassadors and dignitaries but does not even have a lean staff to arrange the meetings.
“By tradition, the Presidential Security Group provides them (Presidents) with security. That means it’s not a law, just by tradition. And they don’t have a staff to take care of them. Just for example when the former president was invited to Pampanga, there must be protocols, but he was mobbed by many people who wanted to take pictures with him because didn’t even have a staff to help them,” said the lawmaker.
Go was joined by Senators Mark Villar, Francis Tolentino and Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa, in filing Senate Bill 1784, or the proposed “Former Presidents Benefits Act of 2023” on 26 January.
If passed into law, all former presidents shall be entitled to additional benefits and privileges, such as personal security and protection, adequate staff provided by the Office of the President, and suitable office space, among others.
Under the proposed bill, former presidents will have the right to choose their own security team. Right now, assigning Presidential Security Group personnel depends on the incumbent President.
The proposed bill also seeks to provide security to the immediate family of former presidents to thwart any attempt to harm them even after leaving public office.
“This bill, if passed into law, will at least give them the dignity of being a former president, at least give them five staff. And they can have permanent security for the rest of their lives,” he said, adding that the fatal shooting of former Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on 8 July 2022.