Roque finds Drilon’s no barangay polls scenario ‘strange’, ‘speculative’

“Strange” and “speculative” was how Malacañang described the allegations of Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon that allies of President Rodrigo Duterte at the House of Representatives were moving to postpone the barangay elections to October and have been railroading the amendment of the 1987 Constitution.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III has assured village officials that the barangay elections would push through in May this year.

Citing sources, Drilon, in a radio interview on Sunday, revealed an alleged plan at the lower House to move the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, which has been set for May 2018, to October or November purportedly to accommodate a plebiscite for Charter Change.

READ: Drilon slams ‘plot’ to postpone village polls

“I find that comment from Senator Drilon strange because only last Friday, I was in a forum together with Senate President Pimentel and he declared in an audience of about 4, 000 members of the Liga ng Barangay of Leyte that the barangay elections will push through,” Roque said in a Palace briefing on Monday.

Roque said Pimentel has declared that moves to postpone the barangay elections would not gain support in the Senate.

“While there is a pending bill in the House filed by Congressman Johnny Pimentel to suspend anew the barangay elections, Senator Pimentel declared before the audience of 4, 000 that there was no support in the Senate of another postponement of the barangay elections,” he said.

That means that as far as Congress is concerned, Roque said, the barangay elections would push through.

“So this would belie already the statement of Senator Drilon,” he said.

The Palace official declined to comment on the allegation of Drilon that allies of Duterte at the House of Representatives were railroading the amendment of the 1987 Constitution.

“Since the first allegation of Senator Drillon was false, I’d rather not comment on the other allegations of Senator Drilon obviously because they are very speculative,” he said.                    /kga