Overstaying village execs told: ‘Enough’

The last-ditch attempt by some House leaders on Monday to postpone the holding of village elections anew did not sit well with both the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The DILG assured voters on Tuesday that preparations for the May 14 village and youth council elections remained “at full blast” even after the House committee on suffrage and electoral reform passed bills moving the elections to Oct. 8.

DILG officer in charge Eduardo Año said incumbent village officials had already served five-year terms. “That’s already enough,” he said in a statement.

Año expressed hope that the elections would not be deferred a third time “to allow the public to cleanse the ranks of barangay officials.

Año particularly was alarmed that 6,744 of 42,036 barangays nationwide were considered “moderately” drug-infested, while 208 were “seriously” reeling from the drug menace.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said the Comelec would continue with preparations for the village elections because of the lack of time to amend the law and statements from several senators opposing any poll postponement. —Reports from Jeannete I. Andrade and Julie M. Aurelio