House to prioritize bills on barangay polls’ delay
MANILA – The House of Representatives is set to tackle the proposed postponement of barangay elections.
House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said he has instructed to prioritize all bills proposing for the postponement of barangay elections and extension of term of barangay officials of the country.
House Minority Leader and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman earlier said that the minority has decided to endorse his bill, which seeks to move the date of the barangay elections from October 25 this year to October 2012 in order to prevent exacerbating disunity and to save on funds.
Lagman said the postponement was necessary “to prevent shortly after the national elections further countrywide divisiveness traditionally generated by barangay elections.”
A rescheduling would also allow the administration of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III to use the P3 billion allocated for the barangay elections for more pressing projects, such as those related to social services and infrastructure development, he said.
Lagman also said that all bills seeking to postpone the barangay elections that have been filed in the 15th Congress should be consolidated for the guidance of the Commission on Elections and prospective candidates.
He also said the funds saved from deferring the barangay elections for two years could be used for programs to address the rebellion and poverty problems in Mindanao.
The Albay solon said the move to defer the polls this year was consistent with previous postponements of barangay elections done to minimize local rivalries and conflicts.
He also said that the consensus in previous Congresses, as gleaned from the numerous bills filed, revealed that barangay officials should have a term of five years.
This means that postponing the polls to 2012 would allow barangay officials to enjoy a five-year term.
Lagman said a longer term would also allow barangay officials to have more training in local governance, noting that the officials often become city and municipal executives. PNA
