MANILA — With the start of the filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) on Saturday, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) are on the lookout for third-term barangay (village) officials running for the same post which is prohibited by law.
The Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections will be held on May 14.
In a statement on Friday, DILG Officer-in-Charge Eduardo Año said under the Local Government Code, “no local elective official shall serve for more than three consecutive terms in the same position. Voluntary renunciation of the office for any length of time shall not be considered as an interruption in the continuity of service for the full term for which the elective official concerned was elected.”
“The law is very clear regarding the prohibition of third termers to run for the same post. Do not file your candidacy if you will go beyond the third term, or consider running for another post. Better yet, let the others have their chance to become barangay leaders,” he added.
In the report of the 17 DILG Regional Offices, as collated by the DILG National Barangay Operations Office, there are 8,927 third-term incumbent barangay chairmen in the country and 51,273 third-term Sangguniang Barangay (SB) members.
During a joint press conference with the Comelec and the National Youth Commission, DILG Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said the department has already submitted to the Comelec the names of incumbent barangay chairmen and SB members serving their third consecutive terms in office in the same position.
“This initiative of the DILG to be on guard (against) third-termer barangay officials is in line with Department’s commitment of support to an honest and clean elections,” Malaya said.
The DILG submitted the list of names to the Comelec for review and clearance for posting on the Comelec website so it can be referred to by election officers nationwide.
Malaya assured that once approved by the Comelec, the DILG will also post the list on the Department’s website. (DILG-PR/PNA)
