Senate approves on final reading bill to defer SK, barangay polls

A voter filing in his ballot. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

(Updated) Voting 20-2, the Senate on Tuesday approved on third and final reading a bill postponing this year’s barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections to October 23, 2017.

The elections were originally scheduled for October 31.

On Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III’s motion, the chamber immediately voted on Senate Bill 1112 shortly after it opened its session.

Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto and Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, another opposition member, voted against the bill.

“I vote ‘yes’ to barangay reforms but ‘no’ to this measure,” Recto said.

He said he could not agree to the postponement of the barangay elections, pointing out that “only the people can directly extend the tenure of elective public officials.”

“If this was about extending the terms of mayors or governors by one year, there would have been widespread uproar by now. If this bill was about our terms, there would have been an uprising, with waves and waves of protestors laying siege to this building like those swarms in (the movie) ‘Train to Busan.’ Pero dahil barangay lang ang apektado, parang ang attitude ay ‘carry lang,’ (But since only the barangay level is affected, the attitude is ‘just okay’)” the opposition leader said.

“But barangays are not the far outposts of government; they are the first line of public service. They are the sovereigns’ first contact with government, not the last,” he said.

Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said the passage of the bill complemented similar moves in the House of Representatives, which also approved its own version of the measure.

Senator Sonny Angara, primary sponsor and author of the bill, said a foremost reason for pushing through with postponement is to allow more time for the full implementation of the SK Reform Act or Republic Act No. 10742, which was signed into law last January.

The government, he said, was not ready to implement many of the provisions and programs under the law.

“For instance, RA 10742 calls for the creation of a training fund worth P50 million to be used for the mandatory training of SK officials. But these trainings cannot take place this year given the 2016 GAA does not provide any such training funds,” said Angara, who spearheaded the approval of the bill as chair of the Senate committee on local government.

He also cited the presence of “election fatigue” among voters since only four months have passed since the national elections last May.

“Postponement only gives the Comelec more time to assure higher voter turnout for these elections, and would-be voters the head space to fully consider who should lead their barangays,” Angara added. JE

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