Congress urged: Decide early on barangay polls postponement

Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Commission on Elections Chair Andres Bautista on Tuesday said Congress should decide early enough on whether to postpone the barangay elections so the poll body could stop preparations and wasteful spending.

Bautista acknowledged that passing a law to again postpone the village polls will be “more complicated” this time because of President Duterte’s plan to appoint barangay officials, which some lawmakers are opposing.

He said the Comelec was taking a neutral position on the issue just as it did last year.

Bautista said the poll body wanted to know any postponement by July at the latest.

“The law does not necessarily have to be passed by July. But more or less, we want to know for sure if the postponement will push through, then we can stop with our preparations,” Bautista said. “We just hope that we will know, sooner rather than later.”

Drug syndicates

The President wants to again postpone the Oct. 23 barangay elections to stop candidates backed by drug syndicates from winning.

This was the same reason he used in pushing the deferment of the 2016 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections. Congress passed a law setting the polls to October this year.

Duterte plans to declare the positions of the barangay officials vacant and replace them with his own appointees, according to Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno.

On Monday, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers filed House Bill No. 5359 to postpone the barangay elections to 2020 “to curtail the country’s drug problem,” particularly barangay officials with links to the illegal drug trade.

Bautista said despite talks of another postponement, the Comelec was still making preparations for the polls since no law had been passed.

The Comelec will use the P6 billion that had been allocated for the 2016 elections in its preparations, including voters’ registration, which will end on April 29.

Bautista said no damage would be caused if the notice of award to any winning bidder for any election-related expense had not been given out.

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