Barangay, Sangguniang Kabataan polls reset to 2017

MANILA, Philippines – Senators and congressmen yesterday agreed to postpone the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections for one year.

Twenty-two senators signed the committee report recommending the postponement of the elections for one year.

Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Senate committee on local government, delivered his sponsorship speech on the bill yesterday, the first committee report taken up by the Senate in the 17th Congress.

Angara said the postponement will allow more time for the full implementation of the recently enacted SK Reform Act or Republic Act 10742.

In the House of Representatives, administration lawmakers agreed to move the elections from Oct. 31, 2016 to Oct. 23, 2017.

They came to an agreement in an all-party caucus called by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

They also concurred unanimously to the issuance of a consolidated bill that would reset the political exercise and extend the terms of barangay officials by another year.

Among the principal authors of the measure are House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas, Minority Leader Danilo Suarez and 13 other deputy speakers, including former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former senator Pia Cayetano. Arroyo represents Pampanga, while Cayetano represents Taguig.

Citizens Battle Against Corruption party-list Rep. Sherwin Tugna, chairman of the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms, acknowledged the urgency of acting on the measure since the elections are just two months away.

He has scheduled the first committee hearing on Sept. 5 and expressed optimism that all concerned parties will make their sentiments known.

“We assure our countrymen that the House is in constant communication with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) with regard to the proposals on the postponement of the upcoming barangay and SK elections,” Tugna said.

Earlier, Suarez said he wanted Congress to give President Duterte the authority to appoint barangay officials temporarily in lieu of elections while the government’s war on drugs continues.

He proposed that barangay officials be allowed to serve for two more years, or until 2018, as part of the cleansing process while Congress deliberates on pending measures suspending the SK and barangay elections.

Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said the poll body prefers the elections to be postponed to 2017 and not 2018 as the latter will be closer to the 2019 midterm polls.

Earlier, Alvarez and other House members said they also prefer the abolition of barangay councilors and SK and replace them with purok leaders.

But members of the House independent minority bloc, or the “Legitimate 8,” are opposing the abolition of barangay councilors and SK.

In a press conference earlier yesterday, Reps. Edcel Lagman of Albay, Teddy Brawner Baguilat Jr. of Ifugao and Emannuel Billones of Capiz said they see no cogent reason for the abolition of the SK and barangay councils.

They also noted that the abolition runs counter to the enactment of the SK Reform Act, which is supposed to strengthen the youth council representation and barangay system.

But they agreed to postpone the conduct of the SK and barangay polls, provided that the parameters for the postponement are clearly defined under either a bill or a joint resolution, which happened yesterday afternoon.

Even the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) expressed support for the postponement of elections.

“We need a breather from too frequent elections and 2017 would be good, two years before the midterm 2019 elections,” outgoing PPCRV national chair Henrietta de Villa said.

She also believed that there is a need to re-evaluate the SK with regard to its purpose, goals, activities and relevance.

“PPCRV is also recommending a revisit of the Barangay Law since many of the barangay officials act as ‘cabos’ of political parties and politicians,” she added.

Postponing polls unconstitutional

But election lawyer Romulo Macalintal said postponing the barangay and SK polls would be unconstitutional because it means prolonging the term of office of barangay officials elected in 2013 without mandate from the people.

In a statement, Macalintal said any postponement of the elections is a “subtle and self-serving proposition to lengthen governance without a mandate from the governed.”

“In a democracy, elected leaders can legally and morally justify their reign only by obtaining the voluntary consent of the electorate,” he noted, citing a 1997 ruling of the Supreme Court on David vs Comelec.

Macalintal added that if barangay officials want to continue serving, they must get a fresh mandate in the elections set on Oct. 31. Otherwise, the extension will result in “an unlawful governance as the same is clearly without the mandate and voluntary consent of the electorate.”

“Remember that when we wrote their names in the ballots in the 2013 barangay elections, our contract with them was only for three years without any condition. There is nothing in the ballot which said that we agree to an extension of their term if the law is amended,” he said.

“Likewise, extending their tenure of office will have a very absurd situation where their tenure of office will be longer than the President, or the mayors or governors who are supposed to be their superiors since the term of office of local elective officials is only three years,” he added.

NYC: Don’t abolish SK

Meanwhile, National Youth Commission (NYC) chair Aiza Seguerra has urged members of Congress not to proceed with the plan to abolish the SK, saying it would disenfranchise the Filipino youth in governance.

“The SK is a unique feature of Philippine democracy. It is the most concrete expression of the constitutional mandate that encourages civic engagement among young people. By providing this venue for young people to participate in governance, we are investing in the next generation of effective local and national leaders,” the NYC chief said.

Appointed earlier this month by President Duterte, Seguerra said the new SK is designed to be an effective and efficient governance mechanism that could help in social development and the government’s war on drugs. – With Janvic Mateo, Sheila Crisostomo, Perseus Echeminada, Evelyn Macairan