THE Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that the constitutional prohibition on the appointment to government positions within one year from an election applies to all losing candidates, regardless of the position and the place or jurisdiction of the office where they are appointed.

In a decision penned by Associate Justice Jose Midas Marquez, the Supreme Court en banc denied the petition filed by Raul Macalino that challenged the rulings of the Commission on Audit (CoA) disallowing the payment of his wages and allowances as legal officer of the municipal government of Mexico, Pampanga.