Tulfo files bill that seeks to end political adventurism
Senator Raffy Tulfo is seeking congressional approval of a bill seeking to declare an elective official automatically resigned from his elective office upon the filing of his certificate of candidacy (COC).
In filing Senate Bill No. 1683, Tulfo proposed the restoration of the old law, Batas Pambansa 881, known as the Omnibus Election Code, because it states that an elective official who files a COC for a position in the public sector other than the one he is currently holding in a permanent capacity, with the exception of the positions of President and VP, is deemed to have resigned from that office.
The same BP 881 stated that all public officials should serve the people with utmost loyalty and not jeopardise the mandate entrusted to them by their constituents is preserved and honored.
Tulfo said the passing of RA 9006, often known as the Fair Elections Practices Act, which disregarded section 67 of BP 881, made the situation even worse.
"For enabling the unjust and unequal treatment of candidates, the law has drawn criticism. The legislation favors those who seek the presidency and vice presidency, offering losing candidates the greatest comfort and opportunity to restore their positions. The law, however, denies the same benefit and privilege to candidates of other elective offices, treating them as they had already resigned regardless of the election’s outcome," Tulfo said in the explanatory note of the bill.
"More importantly, this measure undermines the prohibition on obtrusive candidates by encouraging political adventurism," he said.
"The statute serves as a steady source of support for incumbent elective officials, who foster the idea of that since they might have nothing to lose, they might as well as run for the two highest posts even though they know they have no chance of succeeding," he added.
He said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has been unfairly burdened with unnecessary administrative and operational work as a result,’’ it added.
"The current state of the law allows any elective public official to run for any other position than the one he or she is currently holding without running the risk of losing that office," he stressed.