Most governors okay move to reset barangay elections

Most members of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) are in favor of the postponement of the barangay elections slated next year, said LPP president Erico Aumentado.

Aumentado, governor of Bohol, said most of the governors support the move to postpone the elections, fearing that the elections could aggravate the situation of the national economy.

“The barangay elections next year would be devastating to the economy because the government has to allocate huge funds for another election,” said Aumentado who noted that the country has just conducted a national election and that it is not financially sound to hold elections every year.

Aumentado said that the lawmakers must conduct a thorough study of the proposal of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to abolish the barangay elections and instead grant the mayors the power to appoint barangay officials.

Cebuano Congressman Eduardo Gullas has filed a bill calling for the postponement of the 2005 barangay elections to November 2007.

Gullas’ House Bill No. 2458 is entitled an “act extending the term of office of barangay officials and resetting the date of barangay elections.” It was filed on Aug. 18, a day before the Liga ng mga Barangay held its convention. But in a resolution that the league adopted on August 19, the organization appealed for Congress to postpone the November 2005 elections.

In filing House Bill No. 2458, Gullas said the postponement of the synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections is a practical option to alleviate the country’s worsening deficit.

Elections held close to each other weigh heavily on the government’s cash flow.

If the election laws were followed, the holding of nationwide elections for local posts is on the second Monday of May. But Gullas, in his bill, said it should be moved six months later or in November. (Manila Bulletin, August 24, 2004)