DEMOCRATIC EXERCISE | Inmates cast their votes at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology compound in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan, during Monday’s barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections. (Photo by RAY B. ZAMBRANO / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Three inmates who ran as candidates for village councilor are poised to win in Monday’s barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
They and five other persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) also vying for barangay posts waged their campaign while in detention.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Director Ruel Rivera said the three PDLs were running as barangay councilors in their respective localities. He did not name the candidates but the Inquirer got their identities.
One is a reelectionist candidate who garnered the most votes in Datu Esmael village in Dasmariñas City, Cavite.
Another was a candidate in Barangay Buto in Tanay, Rizal province, while the third was a candidate in Iponan village in Cagayan de Oro City.
All three are facing charges of drug trading and possession of illegal drugs.
Final say
Rivera said only the Commission on Elections had the final say on their proclamation. They might also face disqualification if they are found to be unable to perform their duties.
Nevertheless, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said, “We respect the right of our PDLs not only to cast their votes but also to run for and even be elected for office.”
There were also two other inmates running for barangay councilor and three running for village chair.
Under Section 12 of the Omnibus Election Code (Batas Pambansa No. 881), “any person who has been declared by competent authority insane or incompetent, or has been sentenced by final judgment for subversion, insurrection, rebellion or for any offense for which he has been sentenced to a penalty of more than eighteen months or for a crime involving moral turpitude, shall be disqualified to be a candidate and to hold any office, unless he has been given plenary pardon or granted amnesty.”
A total of 28,370 PDLs cast their votes on Monday—the first time they were able to do so, after a Supreme Court ruling in 2022 allowed qualified inmates to vote.
But a lawmaker wants the right to suffrage among city and municipal inmates to be limited to national elections.
Muntinlupa Rep. Jaime Fresnedi, who filed House Bill No. 9126 in that regard, noted the circumstances of these inmates, describing them as “forced residents” who could “be pressured into voting by unscrupulous local politicians to change the political landscape.”
“Some PDLs are not residents of the place they are confined in, thus, [it] may be said [that they] have no stake in the results of any local elections there,” he said.
“It may be considered… that some PDLs are ‘forced residents’ of the place where they are confined in. They have no choice in the matter. More often than not, they are not aware of the political climate and… they may not be too knowledgeable of the persons running for a particular local government post,” he added.