By Gail Momblan/Philippine News Agency
ILOILO CITY — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Western Visayas awaits the guideline from the higher office on barring village officials from engaging in partisan politics.
Engr. Ariel Iglesia, DILG-6 regional director, said the region will respect any pronouncement from the higher office.
This, after DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III said that civil servants, including village officials, are prohibited from joining campaign activities of candidates for the May 13 election.
Densing encouraged residents to report to the department any village officials found to be campaigning for a certain political candidate or party.
“Undersecretary Densing made the pronouncement in one of the gatherings and we respect that. We are still waiting for the guidelines,” Iglesia said in an interview on Wednesday.
He said the guidelines will make clear the steps they are going to take because the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Supreme Court (SC) have different interpretations on the provision of the Local Government Code regarding political activities of village officials.
“We do not want to add confusion to the problem. We will implement whatever is put in the guidelines that we will be receiving,” he said.
Iglesia said the DILG-6 has yet to receive any formal complaints on village officials involved in partisan politics.
Aside from DILG personnel, the locals can monitor and file complaints “when village officials are found violating election rules”, he said.
Election-related complaints can be addressed to appropriate offices like the Comelec.
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