DILG LO 25 s 2008 Vacancy in Office of Punong Barangay Apr 15 2008

8/20/2019 DILG LO 25 s 2008 Vacancy in Office of Punong Barangay Apr 15 2008

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o

tr/rd.lil.F\

E'TI EIiE

RePubllc

of

the

PhiliPPines

DEPARTMENT

OF

THE

INTER|OR

AND

LOCAL

GOV-ERNMENT

A.

Francisco

Gold condominium

ll

Bldg'

EDSA

comer

Mapagmahal

St,

Dillman,

Quezon

City

OFFICE

OF

THE

SECRETARY

DILG

OPINION

NO. 48

S.

2OIO

April

16,

2010

MR.

SALVADOR

L.

URBONA

Punong

BarangaY

Brgy. Sabang

Settlers

Association

Baybay,

Leyte

Dear

Punong

BarangaY

Urbona:

This

has

reference

to

your

letter-query

seeking.

the

legal

opinion

of

this

O""p".tr""i

."nlerning

tf,e

rutes

on

Vacancies

and

Succession

as

provided

in

lr.|-Jioi.r-couernment-code

of

1991

particularty in

sections

44

and

45 of

the

said

code.

In

this

regard,

we

would

like

to

inform

you

that

this

Department

had

-already

answered

a

similar

qr"ry

-in

DILG

Opinion

N.o'

25' series

of-20o8

th.at

p"..i""^t

vacancies

in'

the

sangguniang

barangay

where

.

automatic

successions

do

not

apply

shall

be

-dtlea

by

appointment

by

the

City

or

Municipal

Mayor,

upon

recommendation

of the

sangguniang

barangay

concelned

[Sel.45

(a)

(3)

Local

Government

Code]'

Attached

herewith

is

a copy

of

the

said

DILG

opinion

tor

your

ready

reference.

Very

truly

Yours,

By

AuthorltY

of

the

Secretary:

-

-'\------.--

-

1'-

\,

,(rrv.

resu9 .

DoQUrylv

Director

III

v

-egal:20:cors:ins



ffi

ePublic

ol

the

PltiliPPtnes

DEpARrvrENr

oF

r;Eiiii;Rioli

nlio

rocnr-

GovERNMENT

a'

r*nti ""

Cold

condomrnium

ll

Bldq'

EDSA

to'nut'il'Jpugtahal

St

'

Dillman'

Quezon

City

OFFICE

OF]

THE

UhIDERSECRETARV

FOR

LOCAL

GOVERNMENT

BILC

0Ptt'tl${t

t{t},*zL

Si'

15

APril

2008

MT{.

ALEX

S.

TAGIAPON

BarangaY

4,

Hiniqiran

Negros

Occidental

Dear

l\ilr.

LagtaPotr:

This

has

re{erence

to

your

earlier

letter

askinq

our

legal

opinion

ol'l

whether

or

not

succest;;"":;";totJ

t'nott

the

Local

Government

code

of

1991

(HA

7160)

t'

"ppl;;;Jln

case

the

elected

Punong

Barangay

died

bel'ore

tal<inE

hh'

oath

u"Ol"u*t

the

lunctlons

o{ his

oflice'

At

the

outset,

please

be

in{ormed that

the

rule

on

succession

is

embodied

unau,

section"s?

""0

+o

tr

the

Local

Government.

c:t-"1,]19'

(RA

7160)

pertaining

to

tftu

tunntr

of

filling-up

ol

permanent

vacanctes

In

il',e

off

ices

of

the

GovernJ'''vilu-o"uutnor'

'Mayor

and

Vice-Mayor

ancl

on

temporary

vacatrcy

'^

t'n"""ri"t

"i

the

local

chief

executive'

respectively'

and

not

Section

64

as

erroneously

stated

in

your

letter'

Nevertheless'

in

reply

to

your

qY:ty'

*t

answer

in

ttre

affirmative'

Allorrv

us

to

illustrate

how

we

arrived

to

this

conclusion'

I

t)fi&,

l

Well-settlctr is

the

rule

that

a

person

ac-quires

public

o'lfice

t'lltl

:y

appointlnent

or

try

electioir'

nrr

-"pi'"i"tment

is

the act

or

designation"by

itiJ

"n""rtiu"

orricer,

u""'o^"'

ltgv,T

"1TTnin,i"ffS'J

iT

ff::

i"l"gui.to,

of

the

individual

who

is

to

exerclse

office

(Mechem,

section

i6'i

o"

t :

other

hand'

an

electio'n

"nret:ts

IIt:t

il;;

.,ril;

t'i'i"

"1

"""tnll'-tJ.

t"

prttttic

olt'ice

br1

ltolLrlor

ztott

tlrrou:4h

tttt

rrst'

o.l

tha

Inllrtt,

tttrtl

t,L'

"'",.'ii""'ii'"'i'll'ui"'ri'''..''tc'niir"l'l

tlrouy,

tht

uill

ol'

tlrt

rlet:torttltt.

Atr

L'lrrliou

''

'i''

";iL"A"nt'trl

ttJ-

tltt'

ltoltrtltr

toill'

tlrt'

t:xprtssitttr

ol

',i,,.',iui),.,ig|,,poiocro ,"t:ha1,c,l1, L,,,,,,,'',,^,u,',::.':

,,btoiuu,l

u):,,,rio'it'1

or

ltlrtralittl

of

ual

l

aotes^utst

r

"c-ijniii.ec,

c.n"

ru"'

t6+tse'

Januarv

20'

2003)'

,As

you

represented,

the

Punong

Barangay

was

duly

elected

as

such"

His

election

to

said

p;;;ti;;

'*o'la-tn"ttroit

t"un

that

he

acquired

a

pluraliry

of

the

votes

;t*'y

"u'i

in

lris

barangay

'

"'lln'

JitcL

ol'

haztitrg

tr

ltltu'alilrl

tt.f

'ttolt's

uu'1u"l:t-y-''ol't

is

uhnt

Ltt

t,tfLrs

llrt'

lillt

to

tJu:

offict"

xxx'"

iMechem,

note

2

at

rso,';it;Ji*bt

uuon'

l-i'

J''

Lu*

on

Public

ofjices

and

Liecti,,n

l-aw,

1990

Edition,

p'374)'



subsequent

to

one's

election

to o{fice

and

before

entering

upon

the

law

and

the

performance

of

his

to

do

some

acts

bY

his

undertaking

[o

rnttltirt

duties,

the

person so

elected

is

usually

required

by

which

he

shall

signify

his

acceptance

oi

the office

execute

the

trust

conlided

in him.

section

92

0f

Local

Government

Code

of

1991

(RA

7160)

provides

and

we

quote:

,,SFlL'l-lON

)2.

()otttt.-

(n)

All

el.cctiue

ttlttl

ttl,loittliTr

locdl

.o.lJ.icit,tlslllitlttt'lllotltcsslnll,ttlloltctsstrntlltitlttttloJ|it-t,st]bscribt:

ti,,t nn

ootlt

ltt

ctlfinttLttiott

of

oJficc

itr

lltc

prest'ribttl

Jttrnr

xxx"

Suchactwhereinthepersone|ectedSha||Signify|risacceptanceof

the

offioe

and

his

unclertaking

to

execute

the

trust

confided

in

hiln

is

ordinarily

terrned

qgalli-f

ication.

lt

generalty consists

o{

the

taking,

and

often

of

subscril-.,inE

and

filinE

of

an

officiaN

oath"

Accordingly,

failure

to

takeanoathandassumethepowers,dutiesandfunctionsoftheoffice

Wou|d

result

to

a

lai|ure

to

qua|ify, which,

in turn,

is

one

ol

the

grounds

enumerated

uncler

section

44

0f

the

Local

Government

code

that

would

renderanofficepermanent|yVacant.SaidprovisionprovidesandWe

q

uote:

"Spt'lion

44.

Pernurtr?trt

Vtu:uttcics

irt

thc

OJ.'[itts

u.f

llrt

Coucrnor,

V

ict'-Oouanutr,

M(ryor,

urrl

Vicc-Mtttlor'

-

xxx

r:Jx

(t,

U

tUeal,tttcltT-?rlt'(t:ultl

JMl

jrl-tht

offict

31i- lt1',

1t1111t111g-. 14111trr :t,1,

tlt(

l4gl (aL -

: lltl\u4.-a4lltg. JJJJ(ll8

ag lJJ3 1 J

'tuurrbir

ttr.

itr

crtst'

of

ltis

1tt'rtrtt.r

ttg1lyllnbil

i

ttt,

hv

.lteql4

llryLlll

rir.ttr

rtrcmbtr

hnll

bct-ottte

the

ttutrttttt

btratr

rt

'

(f)

7'ht' srttcessctrs

us

ittl'int'il

lrtn:iu slttrll

scrttc

ottlry

IIrc

rtttt'x1rired

trtns

o.l

lIttir

1trtdLtct'ssors.

For

yttrpostts

of

tltis

CItul:t('.r,

Lt

Peft

LtttL'ttL

TtnLLTttrl]

ttt'is('s

It,LSlL,illllL

l 4ry-lpSaLgfQli-41.f

ills

a

liglrcr

ttaccrnt tt.[[ice,

rt{uscs

to

u:;sllne

o.l.l

i,'c, .(SJJi-JP--ql a].111' dies,

is

n:nrottc

.fnrrt

t

<t.ll'it:c,

t,olrrri.trilst

,.cl'^iJil/s/

tr

is otltcnoisr

pcrnrntcttlltl

itrt'ttltttcitrrttrl

to

r I i sclnrgt'

I

I

t

t

.l'r

t

t t

t' I

i

o

n

s

o|

h

i s

ttJ'l

i ct'.

For

yurposcs

tl'

sttcccssitttt

trs

prouitlcrl

irr Lhis

Cltaplcr,

rtrtltittg

i.tt lu, satry|gtrrti0.n

slrtrl.l

lta

lctarnritad

ort Ihc

bttsis

Lt.f

Lln:

1,ru1.rrritir,,,

o.l'

ztLtltts

ttbtn

rctl

Itry L'nclt

toitttrittg

t'utttlidalc

to

Ll,te

Iottl

trtrrtt[,ar

o.[

registcrtd

ztoltrs

in toclt

tlistrict

irr

Iltt'

itttttrtlicrlt'lty

yrr'trtdiuil Iocul

tlat'l

ir'ttt."

(Emplrasis

Supplied)

ApplyinE

llte

foregoinE

to

your

case,

by

reason

of

his

death,

the

electecl

Punong

tsarangay

can

no longer

assume

and

take

his

oath

of

office.

His

failure

to assume

and

take

his

oath of

office

will, as

mentionecl

above,

result

to

his

failure

to

qualify

to

the

office

of the

Punong

Barangay'

since

there

is

failure

to

qualify

on

his

part, this would

thereafter

render

his

position

permanently

vacant

and

there

being

a

permanent vacancy

in

the

office

of

the

Punong

Barangay,

the

rule

on succession

as

provided

under

the aforequotecl

[iection

44

(b\,

u4tra,

is

therefore

applicable.

tsased

on

the

aforequotecl

provision,

in case

o{

permanent vacancy

in

the oflice

ol

the

.l

i

ffi

lfl

Irl



i

Punong

Barangay, the highest-ranking,

sangguniang

barangay

member

or,

in case

of his

permanent

inabitity, the

second

highest-ranking

sangguniang

barangay

member

shall become

the

flunong

Barangay'

Hence,

after

the highest

ranl(ing

sangguniang

barangay

member

could

have takerr

his

oath

of

office as

such and

assumed

the

functions,

povvers

and duties

thereof,

he can

now

succeed,

by operation

of

lavv,

the

permanently vacatrt olfice

of the

Punong

Barangay

by simply applying

the

aforequoted

rulc

of

succession.

lt

is,

however, required

that

he

shall

likewise

take anew

an oath of

office,

this

time as

Punong Barangay'

Subsequenl

vacancies

in

the

sangguniang

harangay shall

be filled

automatically

by

other sanggunian

members

accordinE

to

their ranking'

Such

being

the

case, there

will

be

a

resultant vacancy, specifically

the

seventh

ranking

member

in the sangEunianE

barangay

after applying

the

rule of

succession.

The

severrth

place

vacancy

in the sangguniang

sangguniang

barangay

shall

be

filled up by

appointmerrt

to

be

issued by the

municipal

mayor

pursuant

to

Section

45

(a)

and @

of the Local Government Code

of

1991

(HA

7160)

which

provicle

and

we

quote:

"5IrL'l1ON

45. Pernranattf

Vtrctrncies

in

lhL'

Snrrgl4rrniau.

-(o)

Pr:rnttrnotl

ztt:tt:ttttt-ies in

lhc sttttggLtttiatt

zt,lttre

utLtttuttrlic

.slrrccss/orr,.;

prouirltrl

about

LLo tnI.

apStLry

sltttll

bc

.fillt'r.l

btl

trIIpoi tltr t

ttt

itt

IIrr

JoIlotritt:4

tltutttr't':

(1

)

.rlrx,

-r.r.T

Jrr

(2)

rlr Jr.T

.r.T:r

(3)

I ltt t:itU

or

mLmiL:ipal

nrnqor,

in

tlrc crlst

o.f sanggtLttir.rtrg

bt t(utSary/

upo r('conuttctt.dation o.l'

l;lt.c

stttlii:lttttittttt

l)tfll

a

Ll cottcct'ttt,tI.

'

)(x.x

irr.x

.r.r:iv

O

/rr t rrst,

tltt:

ltcrtnctneut.

ut;tctLtft'rl

is

clttst'd

bq

a sntglttnitrt

nrunbertoiro

tloas

trot

bckttrg

to trtrtl political prrrttl,

thc Iot-tl tltirl'

cxtcrLtizte

sltal.l.,

ttpotT rcco

ttutrt:tulat

ion

o.l'

IItt' s trtr

1;7qr

t

tri

t.trr

crtrtt-cnrctI,

tIIIpoLttt ti qrmlil'iaI perstn

to

li.II

lh.c tttttttttt-r1."

Nowhere can we

lind

in

pertinent

laws or even in

jurisprudence

that

in

case of

perm:rnent

vacancy

in the office

of the

punong

barangay

under

the same circunrstance,

the second

placer

in the election

shall become

the

punong

barangay" In

fact, in many

jurisprudence

decided

by

the

Supreme

Co.urt"

said Court maintained

on the contrary, that is,

the non-proclamatiotr

of

the

seconcl

placer

simply

means

he

lost

in

the

election.

The

ratiocination

given

by

the

Supreme

Court in

the

case of

Bqye-S

VS.

eQMEt€-C

(254

SCRA 514),

is

quite

enlightening

and we

quote:

"'l'lttt

tlta cnudit.lttll

tuho obfulitts

tltc

stcttttt.I

lighost

trtrnrber

o.l tt()l(,s nlLul

.ot

ba

lroclnint.cd

uitrrrcr

irt

t'rl sL'

tltt

tttitr.ttirt,l

r

luulidtttL' i:;

rl

Isqu

a l.ifi.etl

is

n.oz.r.t

st:l:lled.

'.['lnt

tlot:lriru:tl

instr.rltilil:.r1

tr.rtrsed bry

.,'r'-s117.1ritt1g

ntlings

hts

sitrr-.1'

beut rtttrttztut.

In thc

Lttft'sI

rrtlirts

on

lltt'qrtesliorr, tlris

(.ourl

sr,thl:

io

sin4tl

isfit:all

ry

assunu'

thtrt

Ilrc

sacorrd

ltlttcer

t.uottlrl lrupa

n't:t'iztr:r.I

tlre

ollrtr

uttttrs

tttotrltl It lo strlsstiLrtlc

L



our

judsment

/or

the

minil of

thc

ootdr. The seconil

placer

is

just

thal

a

second

placet. He

lost the elections. He

was

repud.i

ted

hu eitlw

a. maiority

or pfuralittl 0f

uoters.

He

could

ttot

bc

considered

tlrc

first

arrrcttg qwtlifieil

canilidates

because

in a fielil

zuhich

excludes

the

disqrntlilieil

caflcliilatc,

thc

corrllitiorts zltouJd

ha.ae

substnntially

clnnged,

We are

not

prepared to extrapolate

the

rcsrrLt

unilet the circmstatces."

We hope that

we

have

addressed

your

concern

accordingly.

Very

truly

yours,

AUSTERE

A.

PANADERO

^""'',jl"oJ;i::;:ilil/

Legall2o'.'l7

|ral

/1-

cc:

'

'Tleglonal

Director

Evelyn

A. Trompeta

DILG Region Vl

"

6

Parola St., Foft

San

Pedro

lloilo

City

Documents

DILG LO 25 s 2008 Vacancy in Office of Punong Barangay Apr 15 2008