Comelec reminder: 1-year gov’t appointment ban for losing candidates
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia (INQUIRER.net / NOY MORCOSO)
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday reiterated that losing candidates elections will have to wait for one year before they can be appointed to any government position.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said that the one-year ban on the appointment is now effective, just days after the May 2025 midterm elections.
“The one year ban is effective. Therefore, a losing candidate in the election cannot be appointed to a government post and therefore will have to wait for one year,” Garcia said in Filipino in an interview with reporters.
READ: Comelec to charge bets who don’t remove campaign materials
Garcia also said that the ban on appointment, suspension, and transfer of positions of government officials was already lifted after the elections.
“And we gave the President a continuing authority to transfer, or reassign officials in the executive department,” he added.
Garcia emphasized that the appointment ban is implemented to not be seen as a “patronage” or “reward” for losing candidates and to not be used as an excuse to abuse power and authority.
Meanwhile, Garcia noted that “[a]ny movement of the executive department does not affect the preparation of the Comelec” for the first Bangsamoro Parliamentary elections in October and the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in December.
No courtesy resignation for Comelec chief
Amid the submission of courtesy resignations of all cabinet secretaries following the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Comelec has clarified that its chairman will not be required to submit his courtesy resignation.
“The chairman is not a Cabinet member, and Comelec is not a part of the Executive Department po,” Comelec spokesperson Atty. John Rex Laudiangco told reporters in a Viber message.
READ: Marcos orders courtesy resignation of all Cabinet secretaries
Laudiangco explained that the Comelec is an “independent constitutional commission directly accountable to and answers directly to the People of the Republic of the Philippines.”
Marcos’ order is in line with his plans to recalibrate the administration after the results of the 2025 midterm elections.
The president emphasized the order “is not about personalities— it’s about performance, alignment, and urgency.”
