The House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms has approved a measure disqualifying election bets who fail to vacate their appointive positions at the time they have filed their candidacies before the Commission on Elections.

Capiz Representative Fredenil Castro, who chairs the House suffrage committee, said House Bill 1976 aims to clarify the date when  government appointees running for  elective offices are deemed resigned from their posts.

Castro, a member of the National Unity Party (NUP), said confusion had stemmed from a provision in Republic Act 9369, which raised the question as to whether an appointive official is deemed resigned at the time of the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) or at the start of the election campaign period.

HB 1976 seeks to amend Section 15 of Republic Act  8436.

The amendment provides that "Further, any person holding a public appointive office or position, including active members of the armed forces, and officers, and employees in government-owned-and-controlled corporations, shall be considered ipso facto resigned from his/her office and must vacate the same at the start of the day of the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy: Provided, finally, that any appointive official who fails to vacate the office on the day of filing the Certificate of Candidacy shall be automatically disqualified as candidate for the elective position and shall not be eligible to assume the functions of the elective office."

Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez, the primary author of HB 1976, noted that the Omnibus Election Code  clearly states that  government appointees are automatically resigned on the date of the COC filing.

Subsequent election laws, however, are either silent or unclear on when an appointive official running for an elective post is deemed resigned.

The latest applicable election law, RA 9369, adjusted the deadline for the COC filing to an earlier date, Rodriguez said.  “Confusion now arose on the interpretation as to the exact time of the deemed resignation, whether at the time of the COC filing or during the start of the campaign period,” he added.

Castro and Rodriguez noted that while elective officials have fixed terms of office,  government appointees are either co-terminus with the appointing authority or career officials who are prohibited from electioneering and engaging in partisan political activities.

"Appointive officials can also utilize vast government resources for their political operation, if not considered resigned, when they file their COCs," said Rodriguez.