A ranking official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) warned on Sunday, Feb. 20, barangay officials, especially barangay captains, against endorsing any candidates for the May 9 elections.
DILG Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño issued the warning as he received reports that there are some barangay officials who are openly endorsing local and national candidates.
He said that based on the rules, only the President, Vice-President, senators, congressmen, mayors and vice-mayors may endorse the candidacy of any political aspirants in the coming election.
Diño said that in the case of a barangay captain in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, the official openly expressed his support for the political candidates for president and vice-president in the May 2022 national and local election.
The report also alleged that the barangay captain prominently displayed the campaign materials of the candidates of his choice in his desk and inside the barangay halls which Diño insisted was unlawful.
Despite the infraction, Diño failed to reveal if the said barangay captain will face sanctions or penalties for his Omnibus Election Code violation.
Unlike the aforementioned officials, the DILG executive reminded the barangay officials that they should remain apolitical emphasizing that they are not entitled to the prerogative of endorsing any political bets as mandated under the Omnibus Election Code.
Diño also urged the barangay officials to monitor individuals placing political campaign materials in cable wires, lamp posts and government facilities while warning the public of arrests in doing so.
In the report of ABS-CBN News, Diño, together with Civil Service Commission (CSC) Commissioner Aileen Lizada, asked the barangay officials not to use government vehicles with images of the political aspirants this campaign period to prevent them from being involved in electioneering violations.
Lizada maintained that government personnel should not participate in any partisan political activities which include the members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
She also warned government personnel to be wary of the outfits they wear which may be construed to be part of political campaigning for certain candidates.
“You can wear kung ano yung favorite colors nyo on your wash day except dapat yung mga t- shirt na sinusuot nyo wala ho yung mga vote for (any political bets). Pero hindi po pwedeng sabihin ng head of agency nyo na wear this color on (let us say) Friday (any of your favorite colors on your wash day except that the t-shirts you are wearing should have no vote for signs. But your agency head cannot say what color you should wear for Friday),’’ Lizada said.
In Barangay E. Rodriguez, Quezon City, Barangay Captain Marciano Buena-Agua Jr. noted that his personnel wear red outfits during the working hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
However, Buena-Agua maintained that the barangay personnel are prohibited from wearing their office uniforms in the event they attend political rallies. (Chito A. Chavez)