By Ferdinand Patinio | Philippine News Agency
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said barangay officials are allowed to engage in campaigning in next year’s midterm elections but said they are still answerable to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) once they commit lapses.
Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia said Thursday that although a 2010 Supreme Court ruling allows village officials to do so, they must still follow campaign rules.
“Sa Quintos vs. Comelec… sabi ng SC, they are political. Magagamit sila ng ibang pulitiko. Pero tandaan natin na ang barangay officials, puwede ma-disciplinary action pa din. Maaaring hindi siya election offense pero may ibang batas [na] mag-govern sa kanila,” Garcia said, referring to Republic Act 7160 (Local Government Code of 1991).
The SC ruled that “political partisanship is the inevitable essence of a political office, elective positions included.”
It said elected officials are not covered by the ban on partisan political campaigning for any officer or employee in the civil service.
The campaign period for candidates for national positions (senator and party-list groups) will begin on Feb. 11, 2025 and will run until May 10, 2025.
On the other hand, local aspirants or those running for congressional, and parliamentary (for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao), provincial, city, and municipal positions may start campaigning from March 28, 2025 to May 10, 2025.