MANILA, Philippines — As lawmakers are pushing to postpone the barangay and sangguniang kabataan elections (BSKE), the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) is calling on Congress to hold the long-delayed polls as scheduled this December.
“The will of the people, as expressed through the ballot, is the very essence of democracy. This should not be set aside again,” NAMFREL said in a statement on Wednesday.
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The statement comes after multiple lawmakers have filed bills in both the House of Representatives and the Senate seeking to postpone yet again the conduct of the BSKE, which was originally scheduled for May 2020.
In 2019, former President Rodrigo Duterte asked lawmakers to suspend the polls to allow the elected officials to complete their projects so instead of a three-year term, the officials have now held their posts for five years.
READ: Marcos Jr. studying longer five-year term for barangay officials
This would further be extended should authorities decide to postpone the polls to be held at a later date.
While NAMFREL noted that the country’s constitution allows legislation to determine the term of elected barangay officials, it also said “this does not mean that Congress should again postpone the BSKE.”
“Notably, the law rescheduling the BSKE to December 5, 2022 only amends but does not repeal the requirement under R.A. 9164 that synchronized BSKEs be held in October every three years,” NAMFREL said.
NAMFREL also emphasized that the barangay is the “primary planning and implementing unit” of the government at the community level.
“As the level of government closest to the people, each voter should be given regularly and without interruption the right to choose the leaders they see and interact with on a daily basis,” it said.
Need for new SK officials
NAMFREL said recently enacted R.A. 11768, which provides SK reforms, should be “accompanied by a fresh mandate” by electing new officers to the SK.
With these reforms, the youth council will be allowed to create its internal rules and procedures, appoint a secretary and treasurer who would be subjected to additional requirements, schedule the regular SK meetings and Katipunan ng Kabataan assemblies, and set aside training funds.
SK members will be exempted from the National Service Training Program. They will also receive a monthly honorarium and “appropriate civil service eligibility.”
READ: Ever Again: Alumni of Marcos-era Kabataang Barangay hopeful for revival
NAMFREL also noted that the upcoming SK elections are timely as some officials may be older than the age requirement of at least 18 years old but not older than 24 years old.
“SK elections are rendered timely by the fact that the current SK chair and members may already be more than 24 years old. The time is ripe for them to yield power to the youth of their barangays,” NAMFREL said.
Despite calls for its postponement, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) continues to prepare for the December polls. Voter registration is available until Saturday, July 23.
As of Tuesday, the Comelec has already exceeded its target one million new registrations for the BSKE at over 1.71 million. With this, the poll body expects 66.053 million voters to participate in Barangay elections, while 23.059 million are anticipated to join the youth council elections.
READ: Voter registration target reached – Comelec