Republic of the Philippines
OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
Seventeenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 5877

Introduced by Honorable Deogracias Victor “DV” B. Savellano

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Article VII Section 15 of the 1987 Constitution provides that two months
immediately before the next presidential elections and up to the end of his term, a
President or Acting President shall not make appointments, except temporary
appointments to executive positions when continued vacancies therein will Prejudice
Public service or endanger public safety.

As can be inferred from the preceding paragraph, the highest law of the land
mandates the proscription of appointments to political offices made during the last
two months of the term of office of the person in whom the right of making such
appointment is vested. Unfortunately, there is no law yet that proscribes
appointive officials from seeking public posts immediately after the expiration of
their appointments.

In line with the development plan of the current administration, particularly,
to curb the incidents of corruption, this bill will necessarily curtail one of the
avenues of corruption by cutting short the dreams of aspiring albeit unscrupulous
public officials who accumulated ill-gotten wealth from their political positions.

Needless to say, the prevalent trend in the political spectrum is
constructing confidential positions as a catapult for appointive officials to hoist
them to target elective positions. As a consequence, such officials abuse their
positions to acquire tangible and intangible resources to place them in a better
footing in the elections immediately after the expiration of their respective
appointments.

Such unwarranted footing is comprehensive enough to assure the
departing appointive official a seat in the national or local elections. The ill-gotten
wealth is just one of the factors which make th Passage of this bill imperative.
Of equal importance is the familiarity the appointive position clothes the aspiring
candidate and the undue influence he or she jay exert in order gain advantage
from other candidates,



Lastly, the lack of statute promotes the unconscionable concentration of
powers in an individual as the void allows appointive officials to run without any
convenience, likewise, after the cessation of their respective appointments.



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Seventeenth Congress
First Regular Session

House BiLt no, 5877

Introduced by Honorable Deogracias Victor “DV” B. Savellano

AN ACT PROHIBITING APPOINTIVE OFFICIALS FROM RUNNING FOR ELECTIVE
POSITIONS WITHIN THREE YEARS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE EXPIRY
DATE OF THEIR APPOINTMENT

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title - This Act shall be known as the "MIDNIGHT ELECTIONS" of
2017."

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy - The State recognizes the proscription on the part
of the President or Acting President to make appointments two months immediately
before the next presidential elections and up to the end of his term, except temporary
appointments to executive positions when continued vacancies therein will prejudice
Public service or endanger public safety.

SECTION 3. Definition of Terms — As used in this Act

a.) “Government Agency” shall include the executive, legislative and
judicial branches, as well as, the constitutional bodies of the Republic
of the Philippines, including but not limited to, the national government
and all its agencies, departments, bureaus, offices and
instrumentalities, constitutional commissions and constitutionally
mandated bodies, local governments and all their agencies, regulatory
agencies, chartered institutions, government owned and/or controlled
corporations, wholly-owned or controlled subsidiaries, government
financial institutions, state universities and colleges.

b.) “Coordinating Office” shall mean the agency duty-bound to facilitate
the processing of requirements and handle administration duties as


may be required by the agency mandated to enforce and implement
the objectives stated herein.

SECTION 4. Implementation - There shall be established implementing rules and
regulations, taking into account relevant government agencies and instrumentalities,
particularly those with regulatory powers , to effectuate the objectives expressed herein,
as well as, integration of the Midnight Elections ban in the internal rules of affected
agencies.

SECTION 5. Supervision — There shall be established government agencies in charge
of enforcing pertinent laws, rules and regulations to accomplish the purposes stated
herein, which shall be under the supervision and control of the Commission on Elections
(COMELEC),

Section 6. Coordination - The Office of the President (OP) shall furnish COMELEC,
with respect to its appointees, any written communication or documents necessary to
accomplish the objectives set forth herein, as well as, aid the latter with whatever
requirements found to be indispensable for carrying out the provisions, likewise stated
herein.

SECTION 7. Funding - The COMELEC shall include in the Commission's annual
budget a fund dedicated to cover the expenses incurred by OP in furnishing pertinent
documents and aiding the former in administration and facilitation duties, the funding of
which shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 8. Keeping of Records - The day to day operations, with respect to those
appointees that may fall under the proscription and any other transactions relevant to
this act, of COMELEC AND OP shall be recorded.

SECTION 9. Exemption from Compliance — Government Agencies not exercising
regulatory functions or those agencies that may be considered as insignificant in regard
to duties and annual income generated or with regard to the objectives of this bill, are
exempted from this Act.

SECTION 10. Separability Clause - if any section or part of this Act is held
unconstitutional, no other section or provision shall be affected.

SECTION 11. Repealing Clause ~ All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and
regulations, issuances or any part thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act,
are deemed repealed

SECTION 12. Effectivity - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication
in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.