Postponement of brgy, SK polls welcomed by ABC

CEBU, Philippines — Any postponement of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections will be welcomed by the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC)-Cebu City Chapter.

ABC President and Kasambagan Barangay Captain Franklyn Ong said the extension of the terms of the barangay and SK officials is needed to comply with the three-year term of every official.

“It is a very good development kay daghan pa og mahimo ang mga barangay officials. Dili man pod pwede nga katong plan nila next year kay ma-short among term to two years. By law, we need three years to serve,” he told The FREEMAN.

Ong said the barangay and SK elections have been postponed for several times already.

The officials that were elected in 2013 had a five-year term as the elections were moved from 2016 to May 2018.

After the May 2018 elections, Ong said it would be prudent to move the elections to either 2022 or 2023.

“Kon mahitabo ang May 2020 elections, ma-short ang serbisyo sa barangay and SK officials nga na-elected in 2018,” he said.

The House of Representatives has consolidated all the bills seeking to reschedule the barangay and SK elections from May 2020 to May 2023 while the Senate has recently approved on second reading the bill postponing the barangay and SK elections to Dec. 5, 2022.

Ong said he understands the objective of the lawmakers which is to correct the circumstance that the barangay and SK elections are one year after the local or national elections.

“Nindot na nga development para inig 2023, ma-corrected na and ma-align na nga ang barangay and SK elections should be the month of May after one year of the local elections,” he added.

In May 2022, the country will have the local and national elections.

While the lawmakers are still finalizing the law, Ong urged all barangay officials to continue serving their constituencies.

For Cebu City, he said his office is still processing the approval and release of the P5-million assistance for each of the 80 barangays.

“Dapat motrabaho sa tang tanan karon and atong ipakita nga dili sayang nga ma-extend ang atong mga terms. Taas og opportunity nga ma-implement ang programs for anti-illegal drugs, environment, and other social services,” he added. — GAN (FREEMAN)