Short answer. No. A conviction under the drug law strips political rights as an accessory penalty, including the right to vote and to be voted for. It also affects civil rights such as parental authority and the power to dispose of property. These rights are suspended even while an appeal from the conviction is still pending.
What the law says
political rights such as but not limited to, the right to vote and be voted for. Such rights shall also be suspended during the pendency of an appeal from such conviction
RA 9165, Section 35 — Loss Of Civil And Political Rights. Read the full provision →
These are accessory penalties, imposed automatically
Section 35 is headed 'Accessory Penalties', and that classification does the heavy lifting. An accessory penalty is not something the court has to add on separately or the prosecution has to ask for — it follows the principal penalty by operation of law once a person is convicted under the Act. So the loss of the rights the section lists is not a discretionary extra. It attaches to the conviction itself, which is why a person can find these consequences applying without any distinct order spelling them out.
The political rights you lose
The section provides that a convicted person is disqualified from political rights such as but not limited to, the right to vote and be voted for. Both halves matter. Losing the right to vote removes participation in elections; losing the right to be voted for closes off holding elective office. The phrase 'such as but not limited to' signals the list is illustrative rather than exhaustive, so the disqualification is meant to cover political rights generally, with the vote and candidacy named as the clearest examples.
Civil rights are affected too
The reach is not limited to politics. The same section disqualifies the convicted person from civil rights such as but not limited to, the rights of parental authority or guardianship, over the person or property of a ward, and the right to dispose of property by any conveyance inter vivos — that is, transfers made during one's lifetime. These are serious, practical losses: authority over one's own children and the ability to sell or give away property can both be curtailed, which many people do not realise flows from a drug conviction at all.
Suspension begins even during appeal
One feature catches people out. The section adds that such rights shall also be suspended during the pendency of an appeal from such conviction. So the disqualification does not politely wait until every remedy is exhausted; from the conviction, and through the appeal, the rights are suspended. That is a meaningful window, since appeals can run long. Anyone facing or carrying such a conviction should factor in that these consequences bite during the appeal, and take advice on their exact scope for the specific rights that matter to them.