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MANILA, Philippines – Is the leader you want qualified to run for elective positions?
According to the 1987 Constitution, all candidates for President, Vice President, Senator, and members of the House of Representatives must be:
- a natural-born citizen of the Philippines
- a registered voter (in the case of district representatives, registered in the district where he or she will run)
- able to read and write
The same applies to aspirants in the regional elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), according to Republic Act 9054.
In their case, candidates for ARMM governor and vice governor should be registered voters of the region. Meanwhile, a candidate for regional assemblyman should be registered in the district where he or she shall be elected. (READ: Over 18,000 posts at stake in 2016 elections)
Meanwhile, for candidates in local posts – from provincial governor to city/municipal councilor – the requirements are similar, based on the Local Government Code:
- a citizen of the Philippines
- a registered voter in the municipality, city, province, or district where he intends to be elected
- able to read and write Filipino or any other local language or dialect
There are also age and residency requirements for each elective position, as follows:
| Position | Minimum Age (on election day) |
Residency Requirement (immediately preceding election day) |
| President or Vice President | 40 | resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years |
| Senator | 35 | resident of the Philippines for at least 2 years |
| District Representative | 25 | resident of legislative district for at least 1 year |
| Provincial Governor, Vice Governor, or Board Member | 23 | resident of province or district for at least 1 year |
| Mayor, Vice Mayor, or Councilor of a highly-urbanized city (HUC) | 23 | resident of city for at least 1 year |
| Mayor or Vice Mayor of an independent component city, component city, or municipality | 21 | resident of city/municipality for at least 1 year |
| City/Municipal Councilor | 18 | resident of city/municipality for at least 1 year |
| ARMM Governor or Vice Governor | 35 | resident of ARMM for at least 1 year |
| ARMM Regional Assemblyman | 21 | resident of his/her district for at least 5 years |
On the other hand, the Local Government Code (LGC) disqualifies the following persons from running for local elective positions:
- 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
- Those removed from office as a result of an administrative case
- Those convicted by final judgment for violating the oath of allegiance to the Republic
- Those with dual citizenship
- Fugitives from justice in criminal or nonpolitical cases here or abroad
- 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
- The insane or feeble-minded
As for party-list nominees, he or she must likewise be a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and write, and a resident of the country for at least one year.
In addition, he or she should be at least 25 years old on election day – but only up to 30 years old if he/she is a nominee of the youth sector – and a bona fide member of the party-list organization he or she seeks to represent for at least 90 days preceding the day of the election.
Voters will vote for the party-list groups, not their nominees, on election day. Winning party lists will then be allocated seats for their nominees in the House of Representatives, based on the number of votes the party-list groups received. – Rappler.com
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