THE League of Barangays in the City of Lapu-Lapu will not adhere to the request of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) that unvaccinated village officials should resign or go on leave.
Bankal Barangay Captain and Liga ng Mga Barangay President Eduardo Cuizon told SunStar Cebu Monday, Jan. 17, 2022, that the order is unconstitutional in nature.
Cuizon said there is no provision in the Local Government Code of 1991 that says that being unvaccinated should be a basis for resignation of an elected official.
This comes after DILG Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño on Sunday, Jan. 16, urged barangay officials who have not been vaccinated against coronavirus disease (Covid-19) to step down or take a leave of absence while the Covid-19 pandemic is still raging.
Cuizon lambasted the DILG for its treatment of barangay officials.
“Ilang pagtuo ulipon kaayo nila ang barangay officials. Wala ko kasabot sa mandate nila nga grabi ang treatment namo,” said Cuizon.
(They believe that barangay officials are their slaves; I do not understand their mandate to treat us badly.)
Cuizon added that they had already submitted a list of unvaccinated barangay officials to the DILG last year as they were required to do by the department.
On creating a master list of unvaccinated individuals in their barangay, however, Cuizon said they had not received any official memorandum from the DILG.
In a press conference Monday, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama did not give a straight answer when asked about Diño’s request to barangay officials.
When he was pressed about the issue, Rama said he would let someone from the mayor’s office ask the barangay officials “one by one.” (with KAL)