Qualifications prescribed by law for public elective positions in the Philippines are continuing requirements and must

be possessed for the duration of the officers active tenure. It is the Philippine Congress which has the power to
prescribe additional qualifications and disqualifications.
The following is a simple list of the pertinent qualifications required for public elective positions in the Philippines:

QUALIFICATIONS TO HOLD PUBLIC OFFICE

President 1. natural born citizen of the Philippines

2. registered voter
3. able to read and write
4. at least 40 years of age on the day of election
5. resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years
immediately preceding the election
Vice-President 1. natural born citizen of the Philippines
2. registered voter
3. able to read and write
4. at least 40 years of age on the day of election
5. resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years
immediately preceding the election
Senators 1. natural born citizen of the Philippines
2. at least 35 years old on the day of the election
3. able to read and write
4. registered voter
5. resident of the Philippines for not less than 2 years
immediately preceding the day of the election
Congressmen 1. natural born citizen of the Philippines
(District Representative) 2. on the day of the election at least 25 years old
3. able to read and write
4. registered voter in the district in which he shall be
elected
5. resident thereof a period of not less than 1 year
immediately preceding the day of the election
Party-List Representative 1. natural born citizen of the Philippines
(Sectoral representative) 2. able to read and write
3. registered voter
4. resident of the Philippines for a period not less than 1
year immediately preceding the day of the election
5. bona fide member of the sector he seeks to represent
6. on the day of the election is at least 25 years old BUT in
case of youth sectoral representative, at least 25 years and
not more than 30 years old at the day of the election
Local Officials 1. citizen of the Philippines
2. on the day of election at least 23 years old for Governor,
Vice-Governor, member of sangguniang panlalawigan,
mayor, vice-mayor, sangguniang panglungsod in highly
urbanized cities; while at least 21 years old for the said
officials in component cities and municipalities; at least 18
years old for members of the sangguniang panglungsod,
sangguniang bayan and sangguniang barangay and
punong barangay; at least 15 years old and not more than
21 years of age for Sangguniang kabataan.
3. able to read and write Filipino or any other local
language or dialect
4. registered voter in the constituency in the locality
5. resident thereof for a period of not less than 1 year
immediately preceding the day of the election
In general, individuals who lack any of the qualifications prescribed by the Constitution or by law for a public office are
ineligible or disqualified from holding such office. An appointment of an ineligible or unqualified person is a nullity.

DISQUALIFICATIONS
Senators and members of the House of Representatives
are prohibited from being appointed to any office which
may have been created or the emoluments thereof
increased during the term for which they were elected.
Office newly created or the emoluments of which have (Constitution, Article VI, Section 13)
been increased
Note: Emolument does not refer to the fixed salary
alone but includes such fees and compensations which
the incumbent is entitled to receive by law.

No elective official shall be eligible for appointment or

designation in any capacity to any public office or position
during his tenure. (Constitution, Article IX-B, Section 7)

Note: Elective official must forfeit his seat if he decides to

Being an elective official accept appointment in another public office or position
during his term.

No candidate who has lost in any election, shall within

one year after such election, be appointed to any office in
the Government or any government-owned or controlled
corporations or in any of its subsidiaries. (Constitution,
Having been a candidate for any elective position Article IX-B, Section 6)

Members of the Civil Service Commission, Commission

on Elections, and Commission on Audit are also
prohibited by the Constitution to become candidates for
any elective position in the elections immediately
preceding their appointment. (Constitution, Article IX-B,
Section 1(1); Article IX-C, Section 1(1), Article IX-D,
Section 1(1))
 The following are disqualified from running for any
elective local position:
1. Those sentenced by final judgment for
an offense involving moral turpitude or for an offense
punishable by 1 year or more of imprisonment, within 2
years after serving sentence;
2. Those removed from office as a result
of an administrative case;
3. Those convicted by final judgment for
violating the oath of allegiance to the Republic;
4. Those with dual citizenship;
Under the Local Government Code 5. Fugitive from justice in criminal or non-
political cases here or abroad;
6. 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 this Code; and

7. Insane or feeble-minded.
b. With respect to the appointment of elective and
appointive local officials and candidates who lost in an
election, the Code provides that they cannot, within 1
year after such election, be appointed to any office in the
government or government-owned or controlled
corporations or in any of its subsidiaries (except losing
candidates in barangay elections).

An idiot or other person non compos mentis is incapable

of accepting or holding public office.
Mental or physical incapacity
The law may expressly require that a public officer be in
possession of his mental faculties.
Persons convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude
are usually disqualified from holding public office.

The provisions of a statute prohibiting convicted persons

from qualifying for office promote honesty and integrity in
candidates for and holders of public office.
Misconduct or crime
It has been held that the legislative requirement that a
person must have no criminal record in order that he
may qualify for appointment was not intended to
automatically cover every violation of municipal or city
ordinance carrying a sanction of a minimal fee to enforce
it. A violation of a municipal ordinance to qualify as a
crime must involve at least a certain degree of evil
doing, immoral conduct, corruption, malice, or want of
principles reasonably related to the requirements of
public office.
The President, the Vice-President, the Members of the
Supreme Court, the Members of the Constitutional
Commissions, and the Ombudsman may be removed
from office, on impeachment for, and conviction of,
culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery,
Impeachment graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of
public trust. - Article XI, Section 2, The 1987
Constitution

Judgment in cases of impeachment is limited to removal

from office and disqualifications to hold any office under
 the Republic of the Philippines, but the party convicted
shall nevertheless be liable and subject to prosecution,
trial, and punishment according to law. - Article XI,
Section 3(7), The 1987 Constitution
The grounds for removal or suspension from office
include acts which would disqualify one from holding
office.

The law can attach ineligibility to suspension or removal

from office, but where there is no constitutional or
statutory declaration or ineligibility for such cause, the
courts may not impose the disability.

Removal or suspension from office
a. A removal from office bars the removed officer
from an election or appointment to fill the
vacancy for the unexpired term but that it does
not disqualify him to take some other office or to
be elected or appointed to a new term of the
same office.

b. If a public officer anticipates his removal for crime

or misconduct in office by first tendering his
resignation. Even if it is accepted, he is not
thereby rendered eligible for election to the
vacancy for the balance of the term caused by
his resignation to escape expulsion.
Under the Constitution, a disability to succeed to office is
imposed upon certain officers.

a) The President is not eligible for any re-election.

A person who has been elected to and has held the

office of President is absolutely disqualified for any
reelection regardless of the length of time he has served
as such. A person who has succeeded as President is
disqualified only if he has served as such for more than
four years - Article VII, Section 4, The 1987 Constitution
Previous tenure of office
b) The Chairmen and the Commissioners of the Civil
Service, Commission on Elections, and Commission on
Audit and the Ombudsman and his Deputies are
appointed by the President Without reappointment.
(Article IX-B,C, and Article XI, Section 11, The 1987
Constitution)

The Ombudsman and his Deputies shall not be qualified

to run for any office in the election immediately
succeeding their cessation from office. (Article XI,
Section 11, The 1987 Constitution)
The Constitution prohibits the holding of certain elective
offices by the same persons for more than a stated
number of consecutive terms.

a) The Vice-President shall not serve for more than

two successive terms. Voluntary renunciation of
the office for any length of time shall not be
considered as an interruption in the continuity of
the service for the full term for which he was
elected. - Article VII, Section 4, The 1987
Consecutive Terms Constitution

b) A Senator shall not serve for more than two

consecutive terms. Voluntary renunciation of
the office for any length of time shall not be
considered as an interruption in the continuity of
his service for the full term for which he was
elected. - Article VI, Section 4, The 1987
 Constitution

c) A member of the House of Representatives shall

not serve for more than three consecutive
terms. Voluntary renunciation of the office for
any length of time shall not be considered as an
interruption in the continuity of his service for
the full term for which he was elected. - Article
VI, Section 7, The 1987 Constitution

d) The term of office of elective local offficials,

except barangay officials, which shall be
determined by law, shall be three years and no
such official shall serve for more than three
consecutive terms. Voluntary renunciation of
the office for any length of time shall not be
considered as an interruption in the continuity of
his service for the full term for which he was
elected. - Article X, Section 8, The 1987
Constitution
The State has a legitimate interest in preventing one
person from holding multiple public offices. The purpose
of the restriction is to prevent offices of public trust from
accumulating in a single person, and to prevent
individuals from deriving, directly or indirectly, any
pecuniary benefit by virtue of their dual position-holding.

A person who accepts and qualifies for a second and

incompatible office is deemed to vacate, or, by
implication, to resign from the first office. It is also
applicable where the holding of more than one position is
prohibited by constitutional or statutory provision
although the second position is not incompatible with the
first.

a) The President, the Vice-President, the Members

of the Cabinet, their deputies or assistants shall
not, unless otherwise provided in this
Constitution, hold any other office or
employment during their tenure. - Article VII,
Section 13, The 1987 Constitution

b) A Senator or Member of the House of

Holding more than one office
Representative may not hold any office or
employment in the Government, or any
subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof,
including government-owned or controlled
corporations or their subsidiaries, during his
term without forfeiting his seat. If he accepts
any other office or employment during his term,
he forfeits his seat. -Article VI, Section 13, The
1987 Constitution

c) The Members of the Supreme Court and of other

courts established by law shall not be
designated to any agency performing quasi-
judicial or administrative functions. - Article VIII,
Section 12, The 1987 Constitution

d) A member of the Constitutional Commission shall

not, during his tenure, hold any other office or
employment. - Article IX-A, Section 2, The
1987 Constitution

e) During their tenure, the Ombudsman and his

deputies are subject to the same
disqualifications and prohibitions as provided
 for members of the Constitutional
Commissions. - Article XI, Section 8, The 1987
Constitution

f) Unless otherwise allowed by law or by the

primary functions of his position, no appointive
official shall hold any other office or
employment in the Government or any
subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof,
including government-owned or controlled
corporations or their subsidiaries. - Article IX-B,
Section 7

g) No member of the armed forces in the active

service shall, at any time, be appointed or
designated in any capacity to a civilian position
in the Government including government-
owned or controlled corporations or any of their
subsidiaries. - Article XVI, Section 5(4), The
1987 Constitution
Appointments in a public office should be based solely
on merit and fitness uninfluenced by any personal or filial
consideration.

The Constitution prohibits the President from appointing

his close relatives to high positions in the government.
The spouse and relatives by consanguinity or affinity
within the fourth civil degree of the President shall not,
during his tenure, be appointed as members of the
Constitutional Commissions, or the Office of the
Ombudsman, or as Secretaries, Undersecretaries,
chairmen or heads of bureaus of offices, including
government-owned or controlled corporations and their
subsidiaries. - Article VII, Section 13, The 1987
Constitution
Relationship with the appointing power
Under the Civil Service Decree, all appointments in the
national, provincial, city, and municipal governments or
in any branch or instrumentality thereof, including
government-owned or controlled corporations, made in a
favor or a relative of the appointing or recommending
authority, or of the chief of the bureau or office, or of
persons exercising immediate supervision over him, are
prohibited. The word relative and members of the
family are those within the third degree either of
consanguinity or of affinity. The restriction shall not be
applicable tot the case of a member of any family who,
after his or her appointment to any position in an office
or bureau, contracts marriage with someone in the same
office or bureau, in which event the employment or
retention therein of both husband and wife may be
allowed.

Full report of an appointment shall be made to the

Commission. It is required that the appointment paper
should be accompanied by a certification of the
appointing or recommending authority stating that he is
not related to the appointee within the third degree of
consanguinity or affinity.

The following are exempted from the operation of the

rules of nepotism:
1) Persons employed in a confidential capacity
2) Teachers
3) Physicians
4) Members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines