14th Congress of the Republic ) 
of the Philippines 
1 
1st Regular Session 
1 
S E N A T E  
Introduced by Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
A public office is a public trust. The constitution mandates all public 
officials to be accountable at all times to the people and serve them with utmost 
responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency. 
Section 67 of Batas Pambansa Bilang 881, otherwise known as the 
Omnibus Election Code provides that an elective official running for a public 
office other the one he is currently holding in a permanent capacity, except for 
the positions for President and Vice-president, is considered resigned from office 
upon the filing of his certificate of candidacy. 
This law has been criticized for abetting the unfair and unequal treatment 
of candidates. The law is biased to those who aspire for the offices of Presidency 
and Vice-presidency, giving losing candidates utmost comfort and privilege of 
reclaiming back their offices. On the other hand, the law denies the same benefit 
and privilege to aspirants for other elective positions, regarding them ipso facto 
resigned regardless of the outcome of the election. 
More importantly, this policy has helped promote political adventurism and 
negates the policy against nuisance candidates. The law provides a constant 
source of encouragement for incumbent elective officials, who nurture the 
thinking that since they have nothing to lose, they might as well aspire for the 
two highest offices despite knowledge that they have no chance of winning at 
all. This has unduly saddled the Commission on Elections with unnecessary 
administrative and operational burden. 
This already untenable situation was further exacerbated by the passage 
of Republic Act No. 9006, otherwise known as the Fair Elections Practices Act, 
which repealed altogether Section 67 of BP 881. As the law now stands, any 
elective public official can run for any other public office other than the one he is 
holding without the risk of losing said office. 
It is believed that this faulty public policy should be corrected at once by 
restoring back the old law. In so doing, the constitutional edict to all public 
officials to serve the people with utmost loyalty and not trifle with the mandate, 
which their constituents have entrusted to them, is preserved and honored. 
For these reasons, passage of this bill is earnestly sought. 
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14th Congress of t h e  Republic 1 
of the Philippines 
1 
1st Regular Session 
,I 
7 
J[.{> -“4 p 5 ” ‘7 
~?~~~~~~~~~ 
OY 
S E N A T E  
S.B.No. 816s 
Introduced by Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. 
AN ACT 
DECLARING AN ELECTIVE OFFICIAL IPSO FACTO RESIGNED FROM 
HIS OFFICE UPON THE FILING OF HIS CERTIFICATE OF CANDIDACY 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress 
SECTION 1. Candidates holding elective office. - Any elective 
official, whether national or local, running for any public office other than the 
one which he holding in a permanent capacity shall be considered ipso facto 
resigned from his office upon the filing of the certificate of candidacy. 
assembled: 
SECTION 2. Repealing Clause. - All laws, presidential decrees, 
executive orders, rules and regulations, and part thereof, which are inconsistent 
with the provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
SECTION 3. Separability Clause. - If any part or provision of this 
Act shall be declared as unconstitutional or invalid, other provisions hereof which 
are not affected shall continue to be in full force and effect. 
SECTOIN 4. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
following its publication in three (3) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved,