Uson’s appointment to OWWA violates consti provisions involving party-list noms —solon

A lawmaker on Tuesday slammed the recent appointment of Mocha Uson to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, pointing out that it runs counter to constitutional provisions on the term and election of party-list nominees.

Agusan Del Norte Representative Lawrence Fortun, a member of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, took a swipe at the statement of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on the validity of Uson's appointment to the OWWA even as AA-Kasosyo party-list, which she was a nominee of, failed to get a seat in Congress in the May polls.

Article 9b, Section 6 of the 1987 Constitution states that “no candidate who has lost in any election shall, within one year after such election, be appointed to any office in the government or any government-owned or controlled corporations or in any of their subsidiaries.”

But Fortun cited Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez's radio interview on Monday where he said that the one-year appointment ban applies to the party-list and not to the nominee.

The lawmaker expressed amazement to this statement. "Kailan po ba kayo nakarinig ng party-list na in-appoint sa isang posisyon sa gobyerno?" he said.

If the Comelec's resolution were to be considered, then it could also mean that the three-term limit for House members does not apply to party-list nominees who have served a third term as well, Fortun said, contrary to what Article VI, Section 7 of the Constitution provides.

"He or she can be a nominee for a fourth consecutive term because the candidate in the previous three elections was not him or her, but the party-list. Hence, he or she is not a candidate for a fourth term," he said.

“Applying the same principle, does it follow that a party-list nominee holding a public post need not resign, or cannot be deemed resigned, because he or she is not a candidate? Hindi niya kailangang mag-resign, o hindi siya considered resigned, dahil hindi naman siya kumakandidato," he added.

Election lawyer Emilio Marañon, however, backed the Comelec, citing Rule 4 Section 3 of Comelec Resolution 9366 on the conduct of party-list elections.

Comelec Resolution 9366 reads, “Nominees holding appointive or elective offices may continue to hold office even after acceptance of their nomination, and the one year prohibition from being hired or rehired in a public office after their party-list organizations fail to secure the needed votes to qualify them for a seat in the House of Representatives, will not apply to them.”

The same Comelec resolution provided that incumbent party-list representatives who are nominated in the party-list race will not be considered resigned.

Following Uson's reappointment to a government post, elections commissioner Rowena Guanzon expressed intention to include party-list nominees in the one-year appointment ban. — MDM/KBK, GMA News