Punong barangay can administer the Presidents oath of office

The House of Representatives has approved on final reading the measure empowering the
Punong barangay to administer the oath of office to any government official, including the President
of the Republic of the Philippines.
This is in recognition of the very important role of the Punong barangay in the political
structure of government, Rep. Salvio ortuno !"
th
#istrict, $amarines Sur%, main author of H& '('),
stressed.
The measure was passed by plenary by a vote of *)" affirmative with no negative vote and no
abstention.
ortuno e+pressed his appreciation to the support for the measure during plenary debates until
its third and final reading approval last ,ay '*
st
given by his colleagues, especially chairperson
,arlyn -. Primicias./gabas of the $ommittee on Revision of -aws who is also co.author of the
measure.
H& '(') further amends Section 0* of 1+ecutive 2rder 3o. ')', otherwise 4nown as the
/dministrative $ode of *)5(, as amended.
The author recalled the euphoria generated by the pronouncement after election in '6*6 of
then President.apparent &enigno Simeon /7uino 888 to ta4e his oath before a punong barangay in his
hometown in Tarlac has brought to the fore the issue as to whether or not the punong barangay can
administer the oath to the highest official of the land.
The great enthusiasm e+perienced by punong barangays at that time had practically been
doused with cold water when several legal luminaries e+pressed their legal views that the punong
barangay has no power to administer oath e+cept in connection with any matter relating to all
proceedings in the implementation of the katarungang pambarangay.
ortuno said that, when enacted into law, the proposed amendment should give elected
officials, including the President of the Republic, an appropriate choice on who among the public
officials would administer one9s oath of office.
Section 0* of 1.2. 3o. ')', or the /dministrative $ode of *)5( is hereby further amended to
read as follows:
Section. 0* 2fficers /uthori;ed to /dminister 2ath. The following officers have general
authority to administer oaths: President< =ice President, ,embers and Secretaries of both Houses of
$ongress< ,embers of the >udiciary< Secretaries of #epartments< Provincial governors and =ice
governors< city mayors< municipal mayors< punong barangays< bureau directors< regional directors<
cler4 of courts9 registrars of deeds< other civilian officers in public service of the government of the
Philippines whose appointments are vested in the President and are sub?ect to confirmation by the
$ommission on /ppointments< all other constitutional officers< P/2 lawyers in connection with the
performance of duty and notaries public. !@6% dpt
NR # 3483B
MAY 31, 2014