by Gail Momblan/PNA
ILOILO CITY — The Civil Service Commission (CSC) 6 (Western Visayas) has reminded government employees that they are barred from campaigning for political candidates this election season.
Lawyer Rodolfo Encajonado, CSC-6 Director IV, appealed to help disseminate the information to appointive government employees.
“Let us help them by announcing that they are prohibited from actively campaigning and involving themselves in partisan political activity. Their right only is to vote for a particular candidate,” he said in an interview on Monday.
However, Encajonado clarified that government officials are free to express their own political opinions and reveal who they will support in the mid-term polls.
“But they are not allowed to persuade someone saying, ‘Please vote for X, or don’t vote for X,’” he added.
Encajonado clarified that government officials are also barred from wearing shirts that bear the photo and name of a particular candidate.
“The mere fact that he or she is wearing a shirt that bears the name and photo of the politician, even without pronouncement, it can be interpreted that he or she supports the particular candidate,” he said, adding that wearing of political shirts is still prohibited for government employees even during weekends or holidays.
“Because he or she is still a government official even outside the workplace,” Encajonado said.
The order against electioneering and conduct of partisan political activity by civil servants is implemented by Executive Order 292, or the Administrative Code of 1987, particularly Section 55, Title I, Book V, which states that “no officer or employee in the Civil Service, including members of the Armed Forces, shall engage directly or indirectly in any partisan political activity or take part in any election except to vote nor shall he use his official authority or influence to coerce the political activity or any other person or body”.
