SC asked: Bar officials from keeping posts after party-list nomination

September 16, 2024 | 6:48pm

MANILA, Philippines — Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal asked the Supreme Court on Monday, September 16, to declare void a rule that allows public officials to retain their positions after accepting a party-list nomination.

In his 28-page petition, Macalintal argued that the rule, found in Commission on Elections (Comelec) Resolution No. 11045, violates the Constitution. Specifically, he pointed to Section 4, Article IX-B, which prohibits civil service officers from participating in any electioneering or partisan political activity, either directly or indirectly.

The rule permits public officials to become party-list nominees while holding office.

Alongside the petition, Macalintal requested a temporary restraining order to prevent the rule from being implemented in the 2025 elections.

‘Nothing to lose, everything to gain’

He also expressed disbelief at what he called the Comelec’s’s sudden “change of heart” for the 2025 elections when it required officials to vacate their positions in previous elections upon filing certificates of nomination and acceptance.

He also warned that if the Supreme Court does not intervene, the Comelec rule could give numerous high-ranking government officials an unfair advantage by allowing them to seek party-list nominations while remaining in office.

This, he argued, would create an uneven playing field for candidates without government affiliations.

“While it may be argued that the candidates in party-lists are the groups themselves, it is the height of hypocrisy to claim that public officials nominated by party-lists will not engage in electioneering or partisan political activity,” Macalintal said.

He further added, “To top it all off, these officials will remain in office while campaigning for party-list seats. And if they lose, they are not even considered resigned from their positions. In other words, they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

For national, local, and parliamentary positions, candidates in the 2025 elections must file their certificates of candidacy between October 1 and Nov. 9, 2024.