By Liezelle Soriano
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson George Garcia said that persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) may still run for office if there is no final conviction yet.
Garcia made the clarification after three PDLs won in the recently-concluded Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) 2023.
The Comelec chairperson cited the case of Aguinaldo v. Comelec in which the Supreme Court ruled that inmates have the right to vote and be voted as long as final judgment has not been made yet.
“Pinayagan natin sila makaboto sapagkat sabi po ng Korte Suprema doon sa kaso ng Aguinaldo versus Comelec at saka po [Bureau of Corrections], dahil hindi pa sila finally convicted, wala pang final judgment na sila ay guilty, therefore, meron pa silang karapatan bumoto at may karapatang maiboto. ‘Yun po ang kadahilanan kung bakit sila ay nakaboto at nakatakbo,” Garcia said in an interview with DZBB.
Garcia said PDLs are still not permitted to attend barangay halls in order to serve, even if they are permitted to seek office.
“Ngayon, paano sila magsisilbi? In the meantime, siguro naman po ay alam ng mga constituency nila na sila ay nasa kulungan… In the meantime, deprived of liberty po siya and very limited ang kaya at pwede lamang niyang gawin,” he said.
(ai/mnm)