December 12, 2023
The Department urges all concerned to comply with the TRO issued by Tacloban Regional Trial Court against the Liga ng Barangay National Executive Board.
The TRO, which was recently extended by the RTC by 17 days, directs the Liga ng mga Barangay (LnB) National Executive Board to cease and desist from implementing Liga Memorandum Circulars 2023-01 and 2023-02, in so far as they impose additional requirements to candidates for Liga positions on top of the minimum qualifications under the LnB’s 2022 Constitution and By-Laws (CBL).
Specifically, the MCs require payment of the annual Liga dues by August 31, 2023, and failure to comply would mean ineligibility to be voted upon for Liga positions at the provincial, HUC and ICC levels.
We already previously issued a memorandum against the assailed circulars explaining among others, that they could have disenfranchised many barangay executives, especially the recently-elected who were supposed to vie for positions in the upcoming LNB elections.
I hope that the concerned parties respect the Court’s order while this issue is being settled.
The DILG shall continue to perform its duty to ensure that the actions of local government leagues conform with existing laws and issuances.