‘Huwag gamitin ang barangay sa pulitika’: Drilon urges village execs to shun politics

MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Monday urged barangay officials “to shun politics at all costs” and for politicians to keep the villages “apolitical.”

“Let us maintain the non-partisan nature of the barangays. Barangays must shun politics at all costs,” Drilon said in a statement.

He was reacting to the reported survey conducted by a barangay chairman in Bulacan province on Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte’s possible presidential bid.

According to Drilon, village officials are prohibited from engaging in partisan political activities as stated under the Omnibus Election Code and Section 93 of the Local Government Code.

He said “only the President,Vice President, members of the Cabinet, other elective officials except barangay officials, members of the AFP reserve corps are excluded from the coverage of the prohibition against engaging in electioneering of engaging in partisan political activities,” citing the Commission on Election and Civil Service Commission Joint Circular 001-2016.

“They cannot campaign or endorse the candidacy of any person. More so, they cannot use the resources of the barangays for political activities. That is a violation of the law,” Drilon stressed.

The senator added that by nature and practice, barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials are non-partisan.

At the same time, Drilon appealed to politicians to stop using village officials to score “pogi points” in the administration or further their political agenda.

“Huwag na po nating gamitin ang mga barangay sa pulitika. Huwag nating bigyan ng kulay ang barangay. Let them remain apolitical,” he said.

(Let’s not use the villages for politics. Let’s not politicize the villages. Let them remain apolitical.)

Drilon then urged the Department of the Interior and Local Government to look into the said incident in Bulacan and ensure that the resources of villages are not used for political activities.

JE