ILOILO City – Taking a drug test and passing it is not among the requirements for one to run in the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections this Oct. 30, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Region 6.
Under the law, according to Atty. Dennis Ausan, Comelec regional director, these are the only qualifications to run in the barangay election:
* must be at least 18 years old
* a resident for at least one year of the barangay where he will run for
* a registered voter
For the SK election, a candidate must be between 18 to 24 years old, or will turn 18 years old on the day of the election. He or she must also be a resident for at least one year of the barangay where he/she will run, and a registered voter.
“Kami sa Comelec, we follow the law. Ti, kon wala ya ang law naga-implementar sina (drug testing), wala kita sang i-require nga drug test,” Ausan told Panay News.
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. encourages aspirants in the 2023 barangay and SK elections to submit themselves to drug testing to strengthening the campaign against illegal narcotics.
According to Abalos, future leaders should show willingness to serve the country by undergoing voluntary drug tests.
“We are fighting a war that is a global problem. Kung gusto ninyo manilbihan sa bayan, one of the biggest problems is illegal drugs, siguro magpa-drug test kayo. I’m calling out all the candidates,” Abalos said in a media briefing.
Ausan said a candidate voluntarily submitting himself to a drug test is already beyond Comelec’s control.
“Kon there will be those who would want to submit themselves to a drug test and make it an issue during the campaign, sa ila na ina ya. Waay na kita control dira. Kon magpa-submit sila kag i-waragwag nila nga limpyu sila, well, it’s part of their strategy sa campaign,” he added.
In 2008, the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional the provision in the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 mandating drug testing to all candidates for public office because it adds another qualification not stated in the 1987 Constitution.
“It is basic that if a law or an administrative rule violates any norm of the Constitution, that issuance is null and void and has no effect. The Constitution is the basic law to which all laws must conform; no act shall be valid if it conflicts with the Constitution. In the discharge of their defined functions, the three departments of government have no choice but to yield obedience to the commands of the Constitution. Whatever limits it imposes must be observed,” read part of the decision penned by then Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr.
“The Constitution is very specific on the qualifications: citizenship, age, residency, being a registered voter, and being able to read and write. So, kon butang mo pa da additional si ano [drug test]… that will in effect be amending the Constitution,” said Ausan.
Meanwhile, Ausan refused to comment on the 76 barangay officials in the region allegedly involved in illegal drugs and left it to the Philippine National Police to handle the matter.
However, he said that as regional director of Comelec, he is against any illegal activities, particularly illegal drugs.
“Indi kita sina…ang drugs halit sa tanan, halit sa lawas, halit sa sosyudad, halit sa komundidad, halit sa everything,” said Ausan. (With a report from newsinfo.inquirer.net)/PN
