Macalintal: No law prohibiting barangay officials from campaigning
Published Apr 4, 2019 08:00 pm
By Leslie Ann Aquino
A poll lawyer said barangay officials can campaign for a candidate in the May 2019 midterm polls.
Atty. Romy Macalintal (RIO DELUVIO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Lawyer Romulo Macalintal explained that there is no law prohibiting any barangay officials from campaigning for or against a candidate in any election.
"Only appointed civil service officers and employees, and not elected officials, are prohibited from engaging, directly or indirectly, in partisan political activities or any form of electioneering," he said in a statement.
"This was clearly clarified by the Supreme Court in Quinto vs Comelec, February 22, 2010, in that such constitutional ban does not cover elected officials notwithstanding the fact that the civil service embraces all branches and agencies of the government. This is so because elected officials, by the nature of their office, engage in partisan political activities all year round, even outside the campaign period. Political partisanship is the inevitable essence of a political office, elective positions included," added Macalintal.
If the President and other national and elective officials can engage in partisan political activities, he said then the same can be done lawfully by barangay officials because they are also elected officials.
Macalintal said what is described by law as “non-partisan”, is the barangay election and not the barangay officials.
He was referring to Section 38 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC) which says: “the barangay election shall be non-partisan”.
Macalintal said what this means is that the barangay candidates cannot be nominated by any political party during the barangay election.
"Clearly, the law does not say that the barangay officials shall be non-partisan. To reiterate, it is the 'election' that is required to be 'non-partisan"', he said.
According to Macalintal, he was able to talk to a number of incumbent barangay officials who told him that they were advised by their local Commission on Elections (Comelec) that they are prohibited to campaign for any candidate in the forthcoming national and local elections on the ground that barangay officials should be “non-partisan”.
Atty. Romy Macalintal (RIO DELUVIO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Lawyer Romulo Macalintal explained that there is no law prohibiting any barangay officials from campaigning for or against a candidate in any election.
"Only appointed civil service officers and employees, and not elected officials, are prohibited from engaging, directly or indirectly, in partisan political activities or any form of electioneering," he said in a statement.
"This was clearly clarified by the Supreme Court in Quinto vs Comelec, February 22, 2010, in that such constitutional ban does not cover elected officials notwithstanding the fact that the civil service embraces all branches and agencies of the government. This is so because elected officials, by the nature of their office, engage in partisan political activities all year round, even outside the campaign period. Political partisanship is the inevitable essence of a political office, elective positions included," added Macalintal.
If the President and other national and elective officials can engage in partisan political activities, he said then the same can be done lawfully by barangay officials because they are also elected officials.
Macalintal said what is described by law as “non-partisan”, is the barangay election and not the barangay officials.
He was referring to Section 38 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC) which says: “the barangay election shall be non-partisan”.
Macalintal said what this means is that the barangay candidates cannot be nominated by any political party during the barangay election.
"Clearly, the law does not say that the barangay officials shall be non-partisan. To reiterate, it is the 'election' that is required to be 'non-partisan"', he said.
According to Macalintal, he was able to talk to a number of incumbent barangay officials who told him that they were advised by their local Commission on Elections (Comelec) that they are prohibited to campaign for any candidate in the forthcoming national and local elections on the ground that barangay officials should be “non-partisan”.