THREE persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) have won in the recent Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said the following were newly elected officials of their respective barangays:
* Sugar Rey Iposada -- detainee at Tanay Municipal Jail, kagawad of Barangay Buto, Tanay Rizal
* Redeem Dabilo -- detained at the Cagayan de Oro City Jail-male dormitory, barangay kagawad of Ipunan, Cagayan de Oro City
* A detainee at the Dasmariñas City Jail male dormitory, barangay kagawad in Datu Esmael in Dasmariñas City
Comelec Chairman George Garcia said in a radio interview that PDLs are allowed to be elected pending the final court verdict on their cases.
“Pinayagan natin sila makaboto sapagkat sabi po ng Korte Suprema doon sa kaso ng Aguinaldo versus Comelec at saka po Bucor (Bureau of Corrections), dahil hindi pa sila finally convicted, wala pang final judgment na sila ay guilty, therefore, meron pa silang karaptan bumoto at may karapatang maiboto. ‘Yun po ang kadihilanan kung bakit sila ay nakaboto at nakatakbo,” he said.
(We allowed them to vote because the Supreme Court said in the case of Aguinaldo versus Comelec and then Bucor (Bureau of Corrections) that because they have not been finally convicted, there is no final judgment that they are guilty, therefore, they still have the right to vote and to be elected. That's the reason why they were able to vote and run.)
But Garcia said there will be a limit in the performance of their duties as barangay officials, as they are still not allowed to go out of jail. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)