Garcia: DILG, not Comelec, has jurisdiction over barangay officials

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Garcia said Tuesday that it is the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) that has jurisdiction over the elected barangay officials, and not the poll body. 

Interviewed on Dobol B TV, Garcia said he was informed that the DILG has sought for the Comelec’s legal opinion on whether barangay officials could participate in the signature campaign to push for Charter change. 

“Sa puntong ito, talagang ang may jurisdiction ay ang DILG, with all due respect,” Garcia said. 

(At this point, it is the DILG that has jurisdiction over them, with all due respect.) 

“Ang Comelec, ang jurisdiction namin patungkol sa kung paano ang kilos ng mga kandidato, amin po ‘yun. Pero kapag nahalal na, wala nang jurisdiction ang Comelec. Tapos na ang jurisdiction namin kapag naproklama na ang isang kandidato,” he added. 

(The Comelec only has jurisdiction over candidates. Once they are elected or proclaimed, the Comelec no longer has jurisdiction over them.)

Thus, when it comes to barangay officials, Garcia explained that it is the DILG that has a say on how they should act and on the limit of their power. 

DILG Undersecretary Felicito Valmocina over the weekend said that barangay officials should refrain from being involved in the signature campaign as doing so may constitute a violation. 

In response, DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos on Monday clarified that the warning issued by Valmocina was only his personal opinion and not the DILG’s position.

Abalos said he wrote a letter to Comelec to clarify the role of barangay officials in partisan political activities, including the people’s initiative. 

Signature campaigns have been mounted across the country, seeking public support for the people’s initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution. —KBK, GMA Integrated News