Bill postponing barangay polls hurdles House panel
The House of Representatives suffrage and electoral reforms committee on Monday approved a bill seeking to postpone anew the 2017 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to May 2018.
At least 19 members of the panel voted to approve the bills seeking to postpone the barangay elections this year to the second Monday of May next year.
The committee also allowed the incumbent barangay officials to remain in a holdover position.
Two representatives opposed the approval — Act Teachers Representative Antonio Tinio and Arlene Brosas.
The bill hurdled the committee level to be tackled on the plenary for debate under second reading.
In an ambush interview after the hearing, committee chairperson Cibac Rep. Sherwin Tugna denied Tinio’s accusation that the committee “railroaded” the bill when it approved the measure without consulting with all the stakeholders.
Tinio said the committee only listened to the barangay officials who stand to benefit in the bill, and not the poll watchdogs such as the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting and the National Citizen’s Movement For Free Elections.
“Patapusin muna ‘yung mga magtatanong. Baka isipin ng taumbayan, niraratsado natin eh… Ang problema pagbobotohan na natin, hindi man lang pinakinggan kahit yung ibang sector lalo na ang mamamayan,” Tinio said.
(Let those who are asking questions finish first. The public might think we’re speeding it up… The problem is we’re already voting on it while we haven’t listened to the other sectors, especially the public.)
“Hindi naman masasabing nirailroad ‘yan sapagkat ang mga napakinggan natin ay (You can’t say we’re railroading it because those we heard were) barangay captains, Philippine National Police, PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency), and even the stakeholders,” Tugna said in the ambush interview.
Deputy Speaker Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro said Tinio’s accusation of railroading is belied by the majority vote of the committee.
Tugna said the vote of the representatives only reflect the sentiment of the constituents they represent.
Asked for a timeline, Tugna said the bill for the barangay polls postponement may be approved on second and final reading within August.
During the hearing, Finance Services Department director Zita Buena-Castillon said of the P7.4 billion budget for the barangay and SK elections in 2015 and 2016, the commission has spent P197 million in 2015 and 2016 before the polls were postponed, on top of the P1.3 billion spent for the procurement and printing of ballots and the hiring of casuals.
This results in a remaining balance of P6 billion, Castillon said.
Deputy Speaker and Cebu Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia said she does not think the P1.3 billion already spent for the barangay polls preparation would go to waste because of the postponement.
“Going through what has been presented, I do not believe P1.3 billion will subsequently be going to waste because the barangay elections would be postponed,” Garcia said.
Edmund Abesamis, Liga ng mga Barangay National President, said the league supported the move to postpone the elections in support of the administration’s move to weed out the influence of drug money in the barangay elections.
Pressed by lawmakers if the police is cracking down on barangay officials who have drug links, Chief Supt. Emmanuel Licup, deputy director for operations, said the police has a narcolist but he is not at liberty to go into the details.
“There is a list sir. But I’m not too familiar with the list. Neither is my office directly involved in the validation,” Licup said.
Abesamis suggested to lawmakers that the barangay officials who are included in the narcolist be exempted from retaining their positions on a holdover capacity.
“If it’s possible that the holdover position can be suspended or deferred as far as these people who are identified with illegal drugs. Those who are in the list be deferred until they had cleared their names. For the meantime, the number one kagawad can assume office of punong barangay,” Abesamis said.
Atty. Czareana Aquino of the PDEA said during the period 2011 to July 31, 2017, at least 266 barangay kagawads and 87 baragay chairpersons were arrested on drug-related offenses.
Ricojudge Echiverri, Department of Interior and Local Government Assistant Secretary for External and Legislative Affairs, said it is supportive of the move to let the President appoint officers in charge in the barangays.
“Nowhere in the Constitution says that the President is prohibited from appointing in the barangays for that matter. Thus we believe it’s just but right that we allow the President to appoint,” Echiverri said.
The 17th Congress in 2016 approved a similar bill postponing the 2016 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to 2017, with the officials retaining a holdover position.
The village polls was then postponed to October 23 this year. The last elections was held in October 2013.
READ: House approves on final reading postponement of barangay polls
Lawmakers in supporting the postponement echoed the President’s call to postpone the elections so that the villages would be weeded out of barangay officials who are suspected of being coddlers of drug lords.
The House all-party caucus agreed to postpone it anew to May 2018 to synchronize the barangay elections with the plebiscite for Charter change and the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law, two key pieces of legislation of the current administration. JE
READ: House wants to postpone barangay polls to May
