Dear Atty. Vlad,

I ran as a Quezon City councilor in 2022 but unfortunately lost. Since I did not have any job after, my former boss who was the QC administrator offered me work as a contractual legal officer. I accepted and performed my functions but I got surprised that one day, the Commission on Audit issued a Notice of Disallowance stopping the payment of my salary and benefits by virtue of the law stating that no candidate who lost in the election, within one year after, shall be appointed to any government position. But my position is contractual, does this law still apply?

Philip

Dear Philip,

Yes, the one-year prohibition in law for losing candidates to be appointed in any government position applies to you.

In the case of Raul F. Macalino v. Commission on Audit, G.R. 253199 (2023), the Court stressed that Article IX-B, Section 6 of the Constitution is clear that those who lost in the election are prohibited from being appointed to any government position within one year of such election.

Section 94(b) of the LGC likewise states that except for losing candidates in barangay elections, no candidate who lost in any election, within one year after such election, shall be appointed to any office in the government or any government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs) or in any of their subsidiaries. It must be stressed here that the Constitution and the LGC explicitly use the phrase “any office in the Government or any (GOCCs) or in any of their subsidiaries.”

The Court thus ruled that no one can disregard the one-year prohibition by asserting that his appointment was not of a permanent nature, but rather under a contract of service that did not require the taking of an oath office. “To interpret the prohibition selectively or to allow exceptions based on different interpretations that would allow a losing candidate to be appointed would open the door to potential abuses.”

As to the liability, the Court applied the guidelines laid down in the 2020 case of Torreta v. Commission on Audit, which apply to the return of disallowed amounts in cases involving unlawful/irregular government contracts. Under the said guidelines, approving and certifying officers who acted in bad faith are solidarily liable with the recipients for the return of the disallowed amount.

Atty. Vlad del Rosario