A person deprived of liberty (PDL) won a seat for Barangay Kagawad in one of the barangays in Dasmarinas City.
In the report by News5, a certain ‘Pacalinog’ won the favor of the voters of the Barangay Datu Esmael and elected him as one of their officials.
Pacalinog has been under the custody of the authorities since 2019 after he was accused of selling illegal substances.
According to him, his son was the one who filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) and despite his status, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) allowed him to run.
“Ang pangako ko sa kanila, kung tutulungan ko kayo wag niyo nalang isipin nakakulong ako,” said Pacalinog. “Kahit nasan ako, makakatulong ako,”
Even Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Sec. Benjamin Abalos Jr. was amused that some PDLs won the barangay election.
They’re now trying to create guidelines on how the elected PDLs could perform their mandate behind bars.
DILG also considered allowing elected PDLs like Pacalinog to use computers or cell phones to attend barangay meetings.
Meanwhile, Pacalinog was not seeking to allow him to attend the barangay meetings personally as long as he could do his tasks virtually.
@news5everywhere Tatlong nanalong kandidato sa nagdaang #Barangay elections #BSKE2023 ay persons deprived of liberty #PDL o mga nakakulong. #BilangPilipinoBSKE #FrontlinePilipinas #News5 #NewsPH #SocialNewsPH #BreakingNewsPH #FrontlinePilipinas