15/01/2025
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐
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๐๐๐๐๐๐' ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
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The United Iligan Party strongly asserts that ๐ป๐ฏ๐ฌ๐น๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐บ ๐ต๐ถ ๐ท๐น๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฐ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ป๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ณ๐จ๐พ ๐ท๐น๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ป๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ช๐ป๐ฌ๐ซ ๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฐ๐จ๐ณ๐บ, ๐ท๐จ๐น๐ป๐ฐ๐ช๐ผ๐ณ๐จ๐น๐ณ๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐น๐จ๐ต๐ฎ๐จ๐ ๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฐ๐จ๐ณ๐บ, ๐ญ๐น๐ถ๐ด ๐ช๐จ๐ด๐ท๐จ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ต๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ถ๐น ๐ถ๐น ๐จ๐ฎ๐จ๐ฐ๐ต๐บ๐ป ๐จ๐ต๐ ๐ช๐จ๐ต๐ซ๐ฐ๐ซ๐จ๐ป๐ฌ ๐ซ๐ผ๐น๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ ๐ต๐จ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐จ๐ณ ๐จ๐ต๐ซ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ช๐จ๐ณ ๐ฌ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ช๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐บ. The Supreme Court, in the landmark case of ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐ฏ. ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ (๐
๐๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐, ๐๐๐๐), established that the constitutional prohibition against electioneering and partisan political activities does not cover elected officials. This is because their roles inherently involve political activities throughout their tenure, not just during the election period. Partisan political engagement is a fundamental characteristic of any elective position.
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While Section 38 of the Omnibus Election Code ensures that barangay elections are โnon-partisan,โ this requirement does not extend to barangay officialsโ activities during national and local elections. As Atty. Romulo Macalintal, a respected election lawyer, rightly emphasized, โโ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ โ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐โ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐ โ๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.โโ โ Therefore, barangay officials are not restricted from expressing support for candidates or political parties in national and local elections.
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To clarify commonly asked questions:
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๐. ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐จ๐๐๐ข๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ก๐ข๐๐ข๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ฒ?
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Answer: No. Such a restriction would violate their constitutional right to freedom of expression, as guaranteed by Section 8, Article III of the 1987 Constitution. Barangay officials are free to join and affiliate with political parties. The only prohibition is that barangay officials cannot be elected into their positions under the banner of a political party.
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๐. ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐จ๐๐๐ข๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ก๐ข๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ?
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Answer: No. While most elective officials are excluded from this prohibition, barangay officials are explicitly included under the rules, as stated in Paragraph No. 14 (c) of the COMELEC-CSC Joint Circular No. 001, s. 2016. However, the circular only governs their conduct in specific contexts and does not prevent them from engaging in lawful political activities outside the confines of those rules.
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In conclusion, barangay officials are constitutionally and legally allowed to participate in the democratic process by expressing their support or opposition to candidates during national and local elections. Their active political participation ensures that they can advocate for their constituentsโ interests at all levels of government.
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The United Iligan Party urge Iliganons to respect and understand these rights as we work together for fair, honest, and participatory elections that uphold our democratic principles. Let us celebrate the active engagement of all leaders, including barangay officials, as they contribute to shaping our nationโs future, especially here in Iligan.
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Source:
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https://mb.com.ph/2019/04/04/macalintal-no-law-prohibiting-barangay-officials-from-campaigning/
https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2010/feb2010/gr_189698_2010.html
https://www.csguide.org/items/show/814
