R e p u b l i c of the P l l i l i p p i n e s

COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS
Manila
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ENFORCEMENT OF THE BRILLANTES, JR., SIXTO S., Chairman
PROHIBITION AGAINST SARMIENTO, RENE V., Commissioner .
APPOINTMENT OR HIRING OF NEW TACLE, LUCENITO N., Commissioner
EMPLOYEES; CREATION OR FILLING VELASCO, A R M A ~ ~ Dc.,O
UP OF NEW POSITIONS; GIVING YUSOPH, ELIAS R.,
LIM,CHRISTIAN ROBERTS.
SALARY 'INCREASES;
TRANSFERRING/ DETAILING CIVIL
SERVICE EMPLOYEES IN
CONNECTION WITH THE JULY 21,
2 0 1 2 PLEBISCITE T O RATIFY T H F
CONVERSION OF THE
MUNICIPALITY OF MABALACAT IN
THE PROVINCE OF PAMPANGA
INTO A COMPONENT CITY
PURSUANT T O R.A. 10164 DATED
MAY 1 5 , 2 0 1 2 .
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Promulgated -_1~2012,

WHEREAS, Sec. 261 (g), (h) and (x) of the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines
provides that:

"The following shall be guilty of an election offense:.

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XXX XXX XXX

"(g) Appointment of new employees, creation of new position, promotion, or

giving salary increases. - During the period of forty-five days before a regular
election and thirty days before a special election, (1) any head, official or
appointing officer of a government office, agency or instrumentality, x x x x x ,
whether provisional, temporary o r casual, o r creates and fills any new positions,
except upon prior authority of the Commission. The Commission shall not grant
the authority sought unless, it is satisfied that the position to be filled is essential
to the proper functioning of the office or agency concerned, and that the position
shall not be filled in a manner that may influence the election.

"As an exception to the foregoing provisions, a new employee may be

appointed in case of urgent need: Provided, however, that notice of the
appointment shall be given to the Commission within three days from the date of
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the appointment. Any appointment o r hiring in violation of this provision shall
be null and void.
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 "(2) Any government official who promotes, or gives any increase of
salary or remuneration or privilege to any government official or employee,
including those in government-owned or controlled corporations.

"(h) Transfer of oflcers and employees in the civil service. - Any pubiic
official who makes or causes.any transfer or detail whatever of any officer or
.employee in the civil service including public school teachers, within the election
period except upon approval of the Commission.
XXX XXX XXX

"(x) Suspension of elective ci& or barangay oficer. - The.provisions of law

to the contrary notwithstanding during the election period, any public official
who suspends, without prior approval of the Commission, any elective city or
barangay officer, unless said suspension will be for purposes of applying the
Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in relation to the suspension and removal of
elective officials;. in which case the provision of this section shall be
inapplicable."

WHEREAS, to enforce effectively fhe foregoing provisions, there is a need to

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promulgate the necessary rules for the guidance of all concerned.

NOW THEREFORE, the Commission on Elections, pursuant to the powers vested in it

by the Constitution, the Omnibus Election ~ b d e ,and other election laws, RESOLVED to .. - '

promulgate, as it hereby RESOLVES to promulgate, the following rules to implement the

provisions of Section 261, subsections (g), (h) and (x) of the Omnibus Election Code, in
connection with the July 21,2012 Plebiscite in the Municipality of Mabalacat, Pampanga:

1. Scope. - This Resolution shall cover acts involving the whole Municipality
SECTION
of Mabalacat, Pampanga.

2. Prohibited acts. - (a) During the plebiscite period from June 18, 2012 until
SECTION
July 21,2012, no public official shall, except upon prior written authority of the Commission:

1. Make or cause any transfer/detail whatsoever of any officer or employee in

the civil service, including public school teachers.
"Transfer" as used in this provision shall be construed as any personnel
movement from one government agency to another or from one department,
division, geographical unit or subdivision of a ,government agency to another
with or without the issuance of an appointment."

2. Suspend any elective municipal or barangay officer, unless the suspension will
be for purposes of applying the "Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act" in
relation to the suspension and removal of elective officials.
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 (b) Beginning June 18,2012 to July 21,2012:

1. No appointing officer sliall, except upon prior authority of the

Commission:

b.1. Appoint or hire any new employee, whether permanent,

provisional, temporary, substitute o r casual; o r
b.2. Create or fill any new position.

2. No govel-nn~entofficial shall promote.or give any increase of salary :

or remuneration or privilege to any government official or employee,

including those in government-owned or controlled corporations'.

SEC. 3. Request for- authority of the Commission; How t o file. - (a) Requests for
authority to nialte or cause any trdnsfer dr detail of any officel- or employee in the civil
service shall be in writing arid filed with the Office of the Regional Election Director of
Region III.

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Said requests shall indicate: (1)the office and place to which the officer o r employee
is proposed to be transferred/detailed or otherwise moved; and (2) stating the reasons
therefor.

(b) Requests for autliority to appoint or hire new employees, shall be submitted in
writing to the Office of the Regional Election Director of Region I l l where the vacancy
exists, stating all the necessary data and reasons for the same.

(c) Requests for authority to create atid fill hew positions shall be submitted to the
Office of the Regional Election Director, Region 111.

The Commissio~?sliall not grant tlie authority unless it is satisfied that the position
to be filled is essential to the proper functioning of the office 01'agency concerned; and that
the filling up of sucli position shall not in any manner influence the results of the elections.

(d) Renewal of appointments of tenlporary, casual, substitute and contractual

personnel are not covered by this prohibition and therefore will no longer need prior '

authority of tlie Commission. However, t l ~ e appointing authority shall furnish the

Commission, through its Regional ~ i r e c t o of
r Region 111, and tlirougli the Law Department
for main office positions, a complete list of employees whose appointments were renewed
indicating their position, item number, salary grade and station.
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 (e) Requests for authority to suspend an elective municipal o r barangay officer shall
be submitted to the Law Department of the Commission, supported by a copy of a formal
complaint executed under oath and containing the specific charges therefor.

(0 The Law Department shall sub~iiitall requests received by it, together with its
recommendation, to the Co~nniissionfor approval or disapproval.
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(g) The Regional Election Director of Region I l l shall approve or disapprove all
requests received by him, and submit a report on the requests actdd LIPOII by him to the
Law Department, within seventy-two (72) hours from his action thereon, by the fastest
means of communication: Provided, that all actions of tlie Regional Election Director
granting the requests for exemptions from the coverage of the ban herein involved are
subject to review by the Com~nissiopand shall remain valid and effective unless otherwise
rescinded or nullified by the Commission.

SEC. 4. Urgent need to appoint new employees. - Where there is urgent need to
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appoint or hire new employees, tlie salrle may be allowed without the need for a prior " '.
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request for authority from the Commission .provided that within three (3) days from the
date of the appointment or hiring, the Commission, through the Office of the Regional
Election Director of Region 111, shall be notified in writing, stating therein the exact date
when the position sought to be fillecl became vacant, the cause of vacancy, reason/s for said
appointment or hiring and all the necessary data or information regarding the same.

The appointment or hiring of new employees shall be valid unless the same is founcl
by the Commission: (1) io have been made to influence in any manner the results of the
plebiscite; (2) to have been issued without the required ~iotice;and (3) that there is no
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urgent need for the appointment.

The need to fill up a vacant position by a new e~nployeernay be considered "urgent"

if the position to be filled is essential to the proper functioning of the office or agency
concerned and that the position soughr to. be fillecl has been vacated either by the death,
retirement, resignation, promotion o r transfer of the regular incumbent; provided, that the
appointment is issued within sixty (60) days from occurrence of tlie vacancy, and that the ,

same cannot be filled by promotion or transfer of insiders within the same period; and
provided further, that the position shall not be filled in a manner that may influence the .

election.
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 Appointment to a position which has been vacant for more than sixty (60) days
before the issuance of appointment shall not be considered urgent and must, therefore,
require prior written authority from the Commission or the Regional Election Director of
Region 111.

SEC. 5. Total ban on promotion, salary increases, granting privileges. -

Promotion, o r giving any increase of salary, remuneration, o r privilege to any government
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official or employee including those in government-owned o r conrrolled corporations, is

strictly prohibited without exception whatsoever.

"Promotion" as used in this provision shall mean the advancement of a n employee

from one position to another with an increase in duties and responsibilities as authorized
by law, and usually accompanied by increase in salary. Promotion may be from one
department o r agency to another o r from o n e organizational unit to another within the
same department or agency.

SEC 6. Injunction. - The Civil Service Commission (CSC); including all its field
t '<. ."
offices, is hereby enjoined not to approve the appointment of new employees where no
prior written approval of the Commission o r its regional offices is presented by the
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appointing authority concerned or proof that the required notice within the 3-day
reglementary period as provided in Section 3 hereof has been complied with.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Commission on Audit
(COA), including all their field offices, shall not release or authorize the release of any
appropriation, or pass in audit, payments or expenditures of public funds that may be
directly or indirectly used in violation of the foregoing prohibitions.

All field offices of the CSC are directed to submit immediately to the Commission a
written report on any violation of said provisions of the Omnibus Election Code.

SEC.7. Penalty. - Any violation of the provisions of this Resolution shall constitute
an election offense and shall be punishable by imprisonment of not less than one (1)year
but not more than six (6) years, among other penalties provided by law.

SEC. 8. Effectivity. - This Resolution shall talie effect on the 7th day after its
publication in two (2) daily newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines and in one
(1)newspaper of local circulation in the Municipality of Mabalacat, Pampanga.
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 SEC. 9. Dis~emir~ation.
-The Office of the Deputy Executive Director for Operations .

shall furnish the Regional Election Director of Region Ill, the Provincial Election Supervisor
of Pampanga, the Election Officer of the ~ ~ ~ n i c i ~ofa Mabalacat,
lit~ and the Municipal
Mayor of Mabalacat, with a copy of this Kesolution. The Regional Election Director of
Region 111, the Provincial Election Supervisor of Pampanga and the Elect~onOfficer of the
Municipality qf Mabalacat shall give this Resolution the widest dissemination possible. '
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S O ORDERED.

Commissior~er Commissioner
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Comm issior~er

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CHRISTIAN ROBER S. LIM
Commissioner