MANILA, Philippines?The barangay elections will go on as scheduled on Oct. 25.

Heeding President Benigno Aquino III, the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms has effectively killed all moves to have the barangay polls postponed, voting 22 to 15, after a brief hearing yesterday.

The hearing, presided over by Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga, came a day after Mr. Aquino met with congressional officials in which he made it clear that barangay officials should get a fresh mandate.

The President himself confirmed the meeting at a televised press conference yesterday, explaining that the barangays were indispensable in the implementation of the policies and programs of the new administration, and thus needed a new set of leaders.

The House committee voted to shelve all pending bills and resolutions seeking the postponement of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (youth council) elections.

Minority Leader Edcel Lagman cried ?treason? over the decision.

?Treason has been committed against the House and this committee because we resisted from performing our function just because the President does not want the postponement of the barangay and SK polls,? he said.

?No other bill of the same nature has reached this stage. Apparently the leadership of the committee is prepared to kill this bill just because of the position of the President,? Lagman said, noting that a full discussion of all the issues surrounding the proposed amendment was allowed.

It was Valenzuela Rep. Magtanggol Gunigundo who moved to ?lay down all the bills on the table,? a motion which refers to the indefinite suspension of all actions on the bills being tackled at the committee level.

Advocates for postponement had thought that the consolidated bill on the issue would be discussed in the hearing, as agreed at a previous hearing on Monday.

But with Gunigundo?s motion, the agreement was set aside and the committee proceeded to vote to shelve the matter.

Barzaga himself confirmed to committee members that several House and Senate leaders had met in Malacañang on Tuesday, seeking the views of the President on the issue.

The committee has in effect saved, for now, the planned abolition of the SK.

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel, author of the local government code, favored the abolition of the entire youth council, proposing that only one youth representative sit permanently at the barangay council.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rene Sarmiento meanwhile said the decision to proceed with the scheduled barangay polls was a ?big relief? for the poll body.

?We can now focus on preparing for Oct. 25,? he said.

He said the Comelec will hold a hearing within the month to review the list of new voters.

Sarmiento said it was not the Comelec that was asking for a postponement.

?We are prepared for the barangay elections,? he said. With Philip C. Tubeza