Gail Rose Anne Egar
2008-03398
Qualifications
Prescribed under the Constitution
President and Vice-President [1987 CONST., sec. 2-
3,art. VII]
Senator [1987 CONST., sec. 3, art. VI]
Members of the House of Representatives [1987
CONST., sec. 6, art. VI]
Members of the Supreme Court and lower collegiate
courts [1987 CONST., sec. 7(1), art. VIII]
Members of the Constitutional Commissions:
CSC [1987 CONST., sec. 1(1), art. IX-B]
COMELEC [1987 CONST., sec. 1(1), art. IX-C]
COA [1987 CONST., sec. 1(1), art. IX-D]
Law on Public Officers
August 31, 2017
(1) Natural-born citizen
(2) Registered voter
(3) Able to read and write
(4) 40 years old on day of election
(5) Resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years
immediately preceding election day
(1) Natural-born citizen
(2) 35 years old on election day
(3) Able to read and write
(4) Registered voter
(5) Resident of the Philippines for at least 2 years
immediately preceding election day
(1) Natural-born citizen
(2) 25 years old on election day
(3) Able to read and write
(4) Registered voter in district in which he shall be
elected
(5) Resident thereof for not less than one year
immediately preceding election day
N.B. Residency and registration in the district (i.e.
requirements 4 and 5) are not required for partylist
representatives.
(1) Natural born citizen
(2) At least 40 years old
(3) 15 years or more as a judge or engaged in law
practice
(4) Of proven Competence, Integrity, Probity and
Independence
Citizenship:
Natural-born citizen
Age:
35 years old at the time of appointment
Competence:
CSC with proven capacity for public administration
COMELEC college degree holder
COA a) CPA with at least 10 years of auditing
experience; or b) Member of the Bar engaged in
practice of law for at least 10 years
 Composition rules:
CSC none
COMELEC Chairman and majority should be
members of the bar who have been engaged in the
practice of law for at least 10 years
COA at no time shall all Members of the Commission
belong to the same profession.

Other Qualifications
Citizenship General Rule: Aliens are not eligible to public office.
The purpose of the citizenship requirement is to
ensure that no alien, i.e., no person owing allegiance to
another nation, shall govern our people and country or
a unit of territory thereof. [Frivaldo v. COMELEC
(1996)]

Exception: Unless the privilege is extended to them by

statute.

For instance, Filipinos who re-acquire or retain their

Philippine citizenship under RA 9225 enjoy full civil and
political rights and are subject to all attendant liabilities
and responsibilities under existing laws of the
Philippines.
But if they want to go into public service either by
seeking elective public office or through appointment,
then they must satisfy the following conditions under
RA 9225:

(2) Those seeking elective public office in the

Philippines shall meet the qualifications for holding
such public office as required by the Constitution and
existing laws and, at the time of the filing of the
certificate of candidacy, make a personal and sworn
renunciation of any and all foreign citizenship before
any public officer authorized to administer an oath;
(3) Those appointed to any public office shall subscribe
and swear to an oath of allegiance to the Republic of
the Philippines and its duly constituted authorities
prior to their assumption of office: Provided, That they
renounce their oath of allegiance to the country where
they took that oath;
x-x-x
(5) That right to vote or be elected or appointed to any
public office in the Philippines cannot be exercised by,
or extended to, those who:

Age
Political qualifications
Property qualifications
Education
Qualifications prescribed by Law for Certain Officers
Secretaries of Departments [ADM
CODE, book IV, chapter 10, sec.
45.]
Presiding Justice and Associate
Justices of the Court of Appeals
[BP Blg. 129, sec. 7]
(a) are candidates for or are occupying any public office
in the country of which they are naturalized citizens;
and/or
(b) are in active service as commissioned or non-
commissioned officers in the armed forces of the
country which they are naturalized citizens. x-x-x
General rule: Age of majority
Exceptions:
Unless provided for by statute. For instance, in
previous Sangguniang Kabataan elections, candidates
were aged at least 15 years old but less than 18 years
old on election day and those aged 15-18 could sign up
for the SK elections. But with the passing of SK Reform
Act of 2015, candidates have to be between 18-24
years old while votes shall be aged 15-30 years old.
General rule: Political qualifications are not required
for public office.
Exceptions:
(1) Membership in the electoral tribunals of either the
House of Representatives or Senate, which requires
proportional representation; [1987 CONST., art. VI, sec.
17.]
(2) Party-list representation;
(3) Commission on Appointments, which requires
proportional representation; [1987 CONST., art. VI, sec.
18]
(4) Vacancies in local Sanggunians, except the
Sangguniang Barangay, which requires that the
appointee come from the same political party as that
of the sanggunian member who caused the vacancy
[Sec. 45(b), Local Government Code]
Rule: A property qualification is unconstitutional
because a) social justice presupposes equal
opportunity for both rich and poor [Maguera v. Borra
(1965); Aurea v. COMELEC (1965)] and b)
no person shall, by reason of poverty, should be
denied the chance to be elected to public office.
[Maguera v. Borra (1965)]
Rule: Statute can prescribe educational qualifications if
they are reasonably related to the demands of the
specific public office.
The Secretaries shall be citizens of the Philippines and not less than twenty-
five years of age.
The Presiding Justice and the Associate Justice shall have the same
qualifications as those provided in Constitution for Justice of the Supreme
Court.
 Judges of the Regional Trial Courts
[BP Blg. 129, sec 15.]
Judges of the Metropolitan Trial
Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and
Municipal Circuit Trial Courts [BP
Blg. 129, sec 26]
Elective Local Officials [LOCAL
GOVT CODE, sec. 39.]
Members of the Board of
Inspectors [OM. ELECTION CODE,
sec. 166.]
Disqualifications
No persons shall be appointed Regional Trial Judge unless he is:
1) a natural-born citizen of the Philippines,
2) at least thirty-five years of age, and
3) for at least ten years, has been engaged in the practice of law in
the Philippines or has held a public office in the Philippines
requiring admission to the practice of law as an indispensable
requisite.
No person shall be appointed judge of a Metropolitan Trial Court, Municipal
Trial Court, or Municipal Circuit Trial Court unless he is:
1) a natural-born citizen of the Philippines,
2) at least 30 years of age, and,
3) for at least five years, has been engaged in the practice of law in
the Philippines, or has held a public office in the Philippines
requiring admission to the practice of law as an indispensable
requisite.
(a) An elective local official must be:
1) a citizen of the Philippines;
2) a registered voter in the barangay, municipality, city, or province or, in
the case of a member of the sangguniang panlalawigan, sangguniang
panlungsod, or sangguniang bayan, the district where he intends to be
elected;
3) a resident therein for at least one (1) year immediately preceding the day
of the election; and
4) able to read and write Filipino or any other local language or dialect.
(b) Candidates for the position of governor, vice-governor, or member of
the sangguniang panlalawigan, or mayor, vice-mayor or member of the
sangguniang panlungsod of highly urbanized cities must be at least twenty-
one (21) years of age on election day.
(c) Candidates for the position of mayor or vice-mayor of independent
component cities, component cities, or municipalities must be at least
twenty-one (21) years of age on election day.
(d) Candidates for the position of member of the sangguniang panlungsod
or sangguniang bayan must be at least eighteen (18) years of age on
election day.
(e) Candidates for the position of punong barangay or member of the
sangguniang barangay must be at least eighteen (18) years of age on
election day.
No person shall be appointed chairman, member or substitute member of
the board of election inspectors unless he is:
1) of good moral character and irreproachable reputation,
2) a registered voter of the city or municipality,
3) has never been convicted of any election offense or of any other
crime punishable by more than six months of imprisonment, or if
he has pending against him an information for any election
offense.
4) He must be able to speak and write English or the local dialect.
Mental or physical incapacity
Misconduct or crime
Impeachment [1987 CONST., art. XI, sec. 2. and 1987
CONST., art. XI, sec. 3(7).]
Removal or suspension from office
Previous tenure of office [1987 CONST., art. VII, sec. 4.
and 1987 CONST., art. XI, sec. 11.]
An idiot or other person non compos mentis is
incapable of accepting or holding public office.
Persons convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude
are usually disqualified from holding public office.
Reason: To assure public confidence in the essential
integrity of the government.
A violation of a municipal ordinance to qualify as a
crime must involve at least a certain degree of evil
doing, immoral conduct, corruption, malice, or want of
principles reasonably related to the requirements of
the public office.
The President, the Vice-President, the Members of the
Supreme Court, the Members of the Constitutional
Commissions, and the Ombudsman may be removed
from office, on impeachment for, and conviction of,
culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery,
graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of
public trust.
Judgment in cases of impeachment is limited to
removal from office and disqualification to hold any
office under the Republic of the Philippines, but the
party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject
to prosecution, trial, and punishment according to
laws.
The penalties attached to impeachment are merely
incidental to the primary intention of protecting the
people as a body politic.
The question to ask is WON the suspension or removal
itself operates to disqualify one from holding the same
or another office.
The law can attach ineligibility to suspension or
removal from office, but where there is no
constitutional or statutory declaration of ineligibility,
the courts may not impose the disability.
A removal from office bars the removed officer from
an election or appointment to fill the vacancy for the
unexpired term but that it does not disqualify him to
take some other office or to be elected or appointed to
a new term of the same office.
Even if an officer tenders a resignation and despite its
acceptance, he is not thereby rendered eligible for the
election to the vacancy for the balance of the term
caused by his resignation to escape expulsion.
1) President not eligible for any re-election

Consecutive terms [1987 CONST., art. VII, sec. 4.; 1987
CONST., art. VI, sec. 4.; 1987 CONST., art. VI, sec. 7.;
and 1987 CONST., art. X, sec. 8.]
Holding more than one office [1987 CONST., art. VII,
sec. 13.; 1987 CONST., art. VI, sec. 13.; 1987 CONST.,
art. VIII, sec. 12.; 1987 CONST., art. IX-A, sec. 2.; 1987
CONST., art. XI, sec. 8.; 1987 CONST., art. IX-B, sec. 7.;
and 1987 CONST., art. XVI, sec. 5(4).]
A person who has been elected to and has held the
office of President is absolutely disqualified for any
reelection regardless of the length of time he has
served as such.
A person who has succeeded as President is
disqualified only if he has served as such for more than
four years.
2) Chairmen and the Commissioners of the Civil
Service Commission, on Elections, and
Commission on Audit and the Ombudsman
and his Deputies appointed by the President
without reappointment
The Ombudsman and his Deputies shall not be
qualified to run for any office in the election
immediately succeeding their cessation from office.
1. Vice-President: not serve more than two
successive terms
Voluntary renunciation for any length of time shall not
be considered as an interruption in the continuity of
the service for the full term for which he was elected.
2. Senator: not serve for more than two
consecutive terms
Voluntary renunciation for any length of time shall not
be considered as an interruption in the continuity of
the service for the full term for which he was elected.
3. Member of the House of Representatives: not
serve more than three consecutive terms
Voluntary renunciation for any length of time shall not
be considered as an interruption in the continuity of
the service for the full term for which he was elected.
4. Elective local officials, except barangay
officials: not serve for more than three
consecutive terms
Voluntary renunciation for any length of time shall not
be considered as an interruption in the continuity of
the service for the full term for which he was elected.
General rule: there is no constitutionally protected
right to hold incompatible offices.
Purpose: To prevent offices of public trust from
accumulating in a single person, and to prevent
individuals from deriving, directly or indirectly, any
pecuniary benefit by virtue of their dual position-
holding.

Rule: A person who accepts and qualifies for a second

and incompatible office is deemed to vacate, or, by
implication, to resign from the first office.
Same rule applies where the holding of more than one
position is prohibited by constitutional or statutory
provision although the second position is not
incompatible with the first.

a. President, Vice-President, Members of the

Cabinet, their deputies or assistants:
General rule: shall not hold any other office or
employment during their tenure

Exception: unless otherwise provided in the

Constitution

N.B. Members of the Cabinet are synonymous with

heads of the executive departments, i.e. the
prohibition does not apply to all officers of cabinet
rank. [Civil Liberties Union v. Executive Secretary,
Resolution on the Motion for Reconsideration]

b. Senator or Member of the House of

Representatives:
Rule: may not hold any office or employment in the
Government, or any subdivision, agency, or
instrumentality thereof, including government-owned
or controlled corporations or their subsidiaries, during
his term without forfeiting his seat
If he accepts any other office or employment during his
term (Note: not tenure), he forfeits his seat.

c. Members of the Supreme Court and of other

courts:
Rule: shall not be designated to any agency performing
quasi-judicial or administrative functions.

d. Member of the Constitutional Commission:

Rule: shall not hold any other office or employment
during his tenure

e. Ombudsman and his deputies:

Rule: subject to the same disqualifications and
prohibitions as provided for members of the
Constitution -> shall not hold any other office or
employment during his tenure

f. Appointive official:
General rule: shall not hold any other office or
employment in the Government or any subdivision,

Relationship with the appointing power [1987 CONST.,
art. VII, sec. 13.]
agency, or instrumentality thereof, including
government-owned or controlled corporations or their
subsidiaries
Exception: unless otherwise allowed by law or by the
primary functions of his position
g. Member of the armed forces:
General rule: shall not, at any time, be appointed or
designated in any capacity to a civilian position in the
Government including government-owned or
controlled corporations or any of their subsidiaries
Exception: not in the active service anymore
General rule: appointments thereto should be based
solely on merit and fitness uninfluenced by any
personal or filial consideration.
Reason: Since a public office is a public trust created
for the benefit and in the interest of the people
1. Constitution prohibits the President from
appointing his close relatives to high positions
in the government
2. Civil Service Decree all appointments in the
national, provincial, city, and municipal
governments or in any branch or
instrumentality thereof, including
government-owned or controlled
corporations, made in a favor or a relative of
the
a. appointing or recommending authority or
b. of the chief of the bureau or office, or
c. of persons exercising immediate
supervision over him, are prohibited.
Exceptions:
a) persons employed in a confidential capacity
b) teachers
c) physicians
d) members of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines
relative and members of the family those
related within the third degree either of
consanguinity or of affinity.
Restriction shall not be applicable to the case
of a member of any family who, after his or
her appointment to any position in an office
or bureau, contracts marriage with someone
in the same office or bureau, in which event

Office newly created or the emoluments of which have
been increased [1987 CONST., art. VI, sec. 13.]
Being an elective official [1987 CONST., art. IX-B, sec.
7.]
Having been a candidate for any elective position [1987
CONST., art. IX-B, sec. 6. and 1987 CONST., art. IX-B,
sec. 1(1); art. IX-C, sec. 1(1); art. IX-D, sec. 1(1).]
Under the Local Government Code [LOCAL GOVT.
CODE, sec. 94.]
the employment or retention therein of both
husband and wife may be allowed.
In the case above, full report of such
appointment shall be made to the
Commission.
General rule: Constitution prohibits the appointment
of a Senator or a Member of the House of
Representatives to any office which may have been
created or the emoluments thereof increased during
the term for which he was elected
Purpose: to prevent an individual legislator from
profiting by an action taken by him with bad motives
and to prevent all legislators from being influenced by
either conscious or unconscious selfish motive
To create any new office Congress must itself cause it
to exist or bring into existence.
It does not create a new office where it leaves the
creation of the office to the people, or merely provides
a new method of filling an office or simply adds new or
additional duties to an office.
Emolument fixed salary attached to the office
including fees and compensation as the incumbent of
the office is by law entitled to receive
No elective official shall be eligible for appointment or
designation in any capacity to any public office or
position during his tenure.
Purpose: to minimize the spoils system
The disqualification subsists only during the tenure in
office (Note: note term of office) of the elective official.
He may be appointed provided he forfeits his seat.
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.
Members of the Constitutional Commission must not
have been candidates for any elective position in the
elections immediately preceding their appointment.
Purpose: directed against political lame-ducks
The following are disqualified from running for any
elective local position:
a. Those sentenced by final judgment for an
offense involving moral turpitude or for an
offense punishable by one year or more of
imprisonment, within two years after serving
sentence
b. Those removed from office as a result of an
administrative case

Note: Effect of pardon upon the disqualification to hold public office
Traditional Rule
General Rule: Pardon will not restore the right to
hold public office. (Art. 36, Revised Penal Code)
Exception: When the pardons terms expressly
restores such (Art. 36, RPC)
c. Those convicted by final judgment for
violating the oath of allegiance to the Republic
d. Those with dual citizenship
e. Fugitive from justice in criminal or non-
political cases here or abroad
f. Permanent residents in a foreign country or
those who have acquired the right to reside
abroad and continue to avail of the same right
after the effectivity of the LGC
g. Insane or feeble-minded
With respect to the appointment of elective and
appointive local officials and candidates who lost in an
election:
General rule: they cannot be appointed to any office in
the Government or any government-owned or
controlled corporations or in any of their subsidiaries
within one year after such election.
Exception: losing candidates in barangay elections
Rule under Risos-Vidal v. Estrada (2015)
In this case, The Court broadly held there that the
pardoning power of the President cannot be
limited by legislative action, and added that
Articles 36 and 41 of the Revised Penal Code
cannot, in any way, serve to abridge or diminish
the exclusive power and prerogative of the
President to pardon persons convicted of violating
penal statutes.
Thus, under Risos-Vidal, if the wording of the
pardon is complete, unambiguous, and
unqualified, it includes the restoration of civil
and political rights because it is unfettered by
Articles 36 and 41 of the Revised Penal Code.
[Risos-Vidal v. COMELEC, G.R. No. 206666,
January 21, 2015]