EDITORIAL - A risky undertaking

The House of Representatives is reportedly prioritizing the postponement of this year's barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in line with the call of President Rodrigo Duterte who wants to appoint a new set of village officials.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez told The FREEMAN that they are optimistic the bill deferring the October electoral exercises will be passed since Duterte wanted to only appoint barangay officials as part of his campaign against the illegal drug trade.

Duterte said drug syndicates might use their money and influence to support candidates in the coming elections. He fears that his crusade will not be sustained if illegal drugs still penetrate the barangays.

But leaving the composition of the new barangay officials to the hands of the president only denies the voters of their right to choose who they think are the right leaders. This is not the way democracy works in a country where freedom has been a way of life.

Unlike those of a town or a city, political officials and their constituents in the barangay, because it is the country's smallest unit of government, have a  relationship that is unquestionably special because of their closeness.

That is why of all the electoral exercises in the country, it is the barangay election that is taking the heaviest toll emotionally among the candidates. The fact that it is sometimes a showdown between clan members or between friends only makes the barangay polls a personal and sometimes bloody adventure.

If Duterte actually ends up appointing barangay executives, it is highly possible that many will resort to take legal actions to argue that a barangay captain or a councilman taking office only by virtue of a presidential appointment lacks the sacred mandate from the people.

The Duterte administration should therefore think twice before embarking on this seemingly risky undertaking. Besides, it cannot always guarantee that those it will appoint come October are free from any traces of the illegal drug trade.