Lawmakers belonging to opposing minority groups in the House of Representatives aired contrasting opinions on the legal issues surrounding President Duterte’s bid to appoint barangay officials.
Deputy Minority Leader Eugene de Vera (ABS Partylist) maintained that there is no constitutional prohibition in granting Duterte authority to appoint barangay officials so long as a law is enacted to grant him such power.
Duterte critic and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, head of another opposition bloc in the Lower House, insisted that it is precisely a provision in the Constitution that makes it illegal for the chief executive to appoint village officials.
However, both agree that Congress may scrap the October 2017 elections.
“The appointments made by the president thru a legislative fiat of barangay officials does not contravene the Constitution’s Article X Section 3 of the functions and duties of local officials,” stressed De Vera, a lawyer.
The partylist solon noted that Under Article X, Section 4, the president has the authority of general supervision of the barangays but control of such local government unit will have to remain “as provinces with respect to component cities and municipalities and cities and municipalities with respect to component barangays.”
“The general supervision by the president should be limited on whether or not the LGUs are doing their mandated tasks and should (president) have no control over them,” he said.
However, Lagman said neither the Constitution nor a statute has the power to grant Duterte or his alter ego the power to appoint en masse or selectively barangay chairmen and other officials. (Ben R. Rosario)
