MANILA – Senate President Francis Escudero said Wednesday that the 35 out of 40 members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) who filed their certificates of candidacy should now be replaced.
In a press briefing, Escudero said this should also apply to other public officials appointed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. who chose to aim for an elected position, citing the case of former Interior secretary Benhur Abalos Jr.
“Klaro para sa akin yung probisyon ng Konstitusyon: ipso facto (by the fact itself) resigned ang sinumang tatakbo. Walang exemption dun na appointed officials (To me, the provision of the Constitution is clear: whoever runs for office should be ipso facto resigned. No appointed official is exempted from that),” he said.
“Meaning, wala na silang kelangang isumite na letter of resignation, wala nang resignation na kailangan pang tanggapin bago maging effective. Pag-file ng certificate of candidacy, tulad nung ibang mga appointed officials na tumakbo, deemed ipso facto resigned na sila (Meaning, they don’t need to submit a letter of resignation, no resignation needs to be received before it becomes effective. When the certificate of candidacy is filed, like other appointed officials who are running, they are already deemed ipso facto resigned).”
Escudero further explained that the BTA members could not even raise the Bangsamoro Electoral Code as a basis to stay in their positions.
“Para sa akin, hindi lamang kwestyonable, klarong paglabag at walang epekto kung saka-sakali sa Saligang Batas at sa batas na ipinasa ng Kongreso sa pamamagitan ng Omnibus Election Code (For me, it is not only questionable. It is a clear violation and has no effect under the Constitution and the law passed by the Congress through the Omnibus Election Code),” he said.
Escudero confirmed that he already informed the President about the concern on Tuesday night, urging him to find replacements for the 35 BTA members as soon as possible to avoid technicalities.
He said he also told the President that the concern is urgent and needs to be addressed first before the proposed postponement of the elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is tackled. (PNA)