Gov’t workers, teachers urged to stay non-partisan as local campaigns begin

Workers at National Printing Office in Quezon City undergo orientation and verification process of Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines.  (INQUIRER PHOTO)

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The campaign period for local candidates in the May 2025 elections starts today, and the Commission on Elections in Central Visayas (Comelec-7) has issued some crucial reminders.

Comelec-7 Director Francisco Pobe emphasized that civil service employees are strictly prohibited from engaging in any partisan political activity or electioneering.

“Sa gobyerno, mga empleyado man ta covered by the civil service, bawal gyud absolutely nga mo apil-apil ta aning mga partisan political activity, otherwise, there will be sanctions, administrative and criminal depending on the actions that you have committed against sa activity sa atong piniliay,” Pobe said during a news forum.

(In government, as employees covered by civil service rules, it is absolutely prohibited for us to participate in partisan political activities. Otherwise, there will be sanctions—administrative or criminal—depending on the nature of the violation.)

He clarified that only job order (JO) and contract of service (COS) employees are allowed to engage in electioneering.

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“Wala may gitawag nga employer-employee relationship, wala man silay appointment sa civil service,” Pobe said.

(There is no employer-employee relationship in their case, and they do not hold civil service appointments.)

However, JOs and COS employees are not allowed to participate in campaign activities during office hours, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., as this would constitute an abuse of state resources, Pobe added.

“Wala may gitawag nga employer-employee relationship, wala man silay appointment sa civil service,” Pobe said.

(The government pays them wages for their designated duties and responsibilities, not for campaigning for politicians.)

Meanwhile, members of the electoral board, including teachers, were also reminded to remain non-partisan during the elections, said Dr. Ida Cabantan, the regional chief administrator of the Department of Education (DepEd-7).

“As public servants, we need to uphold integrity and being non-partisan and being fair, especially during elections. And the regional director keeps on reminding [that to] our teachers and non-teaching personnel who will be serving during the elections,” Cabantan said.

As the 2024-2025 school year ends in April—during the campaign period—Cabantan acknowledged that local politicians may visit schools for recognition and graduation rites.

“RD (Regional Director Salustiano Jimenez) keeps on reminding (the teachers) nga dili lang gyud magpakita og asa sila (not to show who is the politician they are supporting) kay being a government personnel, we need to uphold our integrity,” Cabantan said.

(Regional Director Salustiano Jimenez keeps reminding teachers not to show any political bias because, as government employees, we must uphold our integrity.)

Additionally, Cabantan noted that a series of meetings would be held in the coming days to remind teachers to refrain from expressing political opinions online.

“Although we have a freedom of expression, we need to uphold again our integrity as public servants and especially naa mi sa DepEd (especially as members of DepEd),” Cabantan added.

In Region 7, a total of 12,000 teachers will serve as members of the electoral board.

The local campaign period runs until May 10, with over 41,000 candidates nationwide officially launching their campaigns today, March 28. /clorenciana