The law prohibiting village executives from engaging in partisan politics is not absolute, according to a veteran election lawyer.
“They said that village officials should be neutral and should not engage in partisan political activities. Well, generally true but not totally true,” election lawyer Manuelito Luna told members of the Barangay Councilors League of the Philippines (BCLP).
In his speech during the group’s recent three-day “2022 Barangay Leader’s Convention on Fiscal Management and Governance Impact of the Mandanas-Garcia Ruling in Local Government” held in Boracay Island, Aklan, Luna said that this came to fore at the start of the Marcos administration.
He also cited the implementation this year of Executive Order (EO)138 in relation to the Supreme Court ruling on the “Mandanas-Garcia” case which sets into motion the full devolution of basic services and facilities from the national government to local government units (LGUs), including the increased share of LGUs in all national taxes and revenues.
Said prohibition against village executives, as pointed out by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), is spelled out by the Local Government Code, among other laws. It stressed that barangay officials are not supposed to belong to any political party.
Luna pointed out that as the LGUs take a greater role in delivering out basic services and facilities to their constituencies, the barangays as the smallest administrative division of the government identify the needs of the citizens and make sure that they are delivered and availed of by everybody.
“Election is over. Let’s forget about politics and help the new administration,” he stressed, adding that the barangay and its officials were dutybound to coordinate closely with their town or city mayor and provincial officials for the best interest of the public. “As an election lawyer for the last 21 years, I see no violation about that. What is prohibited is the use of the fund and resources of the barangay for partisan politics” Luna further said.
Luna explained that the additional funding for the LGUs, which include the barangays, due to the implementation of the Mandanas-Garcia ruling would provide the opportunity to improve social service delivery in the country.
In the Mandanas et al. case, the High Court held that all collections of national taxes, except those accruing to special-purpose funds and special allotments for the utilization and development of the national wealth, should be included in the computation of the base of the just share of the LGUs.
The Mandanas-Garcia ruling has increased the Internal Revenue Allotment or budgets of local governments by around 50 percent.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte signed EO 138 in June 2021 to provide more teeth to the SC ruling towards the full devolution of the basic services to LGUs, anchored on the premise that the local governments are in better position to address the needs of their constituents and can therefore deliver better services.