VP Binay’s leadership of Boy Scouts in peril?

After 18 years as president of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP), Jejomar “Jojo” Binay may have to give up his post as he faces a legal issue.

The BSP may not have noticed this provision in the Constitution: Article VIII, Section 13, that says:

The President, Vice President…shall not, unless otherwise provided in this Constitution, hold any other office or employment during their tenure…” 

Lawyers pointed this out to us after we published our story, “Shadows over Binay’s leadership of Boy Scouts.”

The BSP is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) with a statute as its charter, say these lawyers, so Binay cannot continue to hold on to this office. (The Supreme Court declared the BSP a GOCC in 2012.)

But Binay could argue that he is a volunteer, that he does not receive any salary from the BSP.

The provision, our sources say, “is not about double compensation but about focus of work and regulatory power. He can use his power or influence as VP as he may have done…”

The Constitutional provision does not make any other exception. The only other related provision is Article VII, Section 3: For VP, he may be appointed only as cabinet member (without confirmation). 

We gathered that a group of senior BSP officials got wind of this legal question and discussed it in a recent meeting. Whether they will raise this in the National Executive Board, the governing body of BSP, remains to be seen. – Rappler.com