House Eyes Postponement Of Barangay Polls

The incoming leadership in the House of Representatives under presumptive speaker Martin Romualdez will look into another postponement of the barangay elections set this December.

Romualdez, outgoing majority leader of the bigger chamber of Congress, cited the P8 billion in funds that could be saved by postponing the barangay elections anew, which he said could be used for pandemic recovery programs.

“First and foremost, we will have savings of P8.141 billion that we can deploy for COVID response and economic stimulus, ayuda (cash assistance) and all that the country needs, especially those that are suffering from the pandemic,” the reelected Leyte 1st District congressman said in an ambush interview last Thursday.

“That is one of the requests of barangay chairpersons during the League of Barangays meeting. So we shall consider that and that will be taken up immediately and will be one of our items in our priority agenda,” Romualdez revealed.

A bill has been filed in the House seeking to reschedule both the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to May 2024 following their postponement in 2020.

Proponents explained that the measure, which would result in further extending the term of current barangay and SK officials, will provide the fresh set of national and local officials a “mechanism of continuity” in the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Duterte signed in 2019 Republic Act 11462, postponing the May 2020 barangay and SK elections to December 2022.

Under the law, village elections after the December 2022 vote will subsequently take place on the first Monday of December 2025 and every three years thereafter.

Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya on Friday, May 20, said the next administration is free to determine whether or not the barangay and SK polls push through as scheduled, but unless a law is passed, these will be held in December.

“The DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) will leave it to the wisdom of the incoming Congress and president if they will enact a law postponing the barangay and SK election. Otherwise, it would be held as scheduled on December 2022,” Malaya, also DILG spokesman, said in a text message.

The last barangay elections were held in May 2018, giving current barangay officials a term of over four years.

Pandemic recovery

Meanwhile, Romualdez revealed that his leadership will also consider passing another Bayanihan law to give his cousin, presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the power to utilize the national budget that his administration will “inherit” for this year.

“BBM or Bayan Bangon Muli bill will be a stimulus package that will allow the incoming president to harness the resources available to him during this closing period of 2022 and address the measures that are needed for the pandemic, hopefully endemic stage of this COVID issue,” Romualdez said.

“And of course to harness whatever remaining resources to stimulate the economy and to reinvigorate it,” he added.

The Bayanihan 1 and 2 laws were passed to supplement funds for the recovery and response of the government against the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, which hit the country in March 2020.

Speakership

Members of the PDP-Laban party in the House have expressed support for the speakership bid of Romualdez in the incoming 19th Congress.

Incoming congressmen belonging to President Duterte’s political party met at a hotel in Mandaluyong City last Thursday to formally endorse Romualdez as the next House speaker.

Romualdez, who joined the event, thanked administration congressmen for their support.

“This is the unity that we were saying during the campaign. We look forward to working together in helping the incoming administration in his mission of a united Philippines,” he told reporters in an ambush interview.

Among those present was Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, member of PDP-Laban who supported the candidacy of opposition presidential bet Vice President Leni Robredo.

Earlier, other big blocs in the House – the Nacionalista Party, National Unity Party and the party-list coalition – expressed support for Romualdez’s speakership bid, assuring him of a supermajority of 278 incoming members of the chamber. – With Romina Cabrera