IN absenting himself from his own official proclamation as President-elect by the National Board of Canvassers on Monday, without offering any valid excuse for it, Mr. Rodrigo Duterte appears to have made it clear to all and sundry that he is much bigger than his office. It does not help that one front-page news photo from Davao, taken from Facebook, showed the President-elect hanging out with civilian gun enthusiasts at a local gun repair shop in Davao. Although he does not take his oath until June 30, this is not a good start.

No matter how much B.S. Aquino 3rd may have debauched and devalued the presidency, the new President-elect owes it due deference. By his example he has to help people, who have lost respect for the office because of Aquino, regain that respect. His duties to the office are both ceremonial and substantive, “dignified and efficient” (to borrow the words of The English Constitution by Walter Bagehot); none of these are so unimportant that they could be whimsically waved aside. The President belongs to the presidency, the presidency does not belong to the President; the servant serves the office.

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