Duterte asked Congress to postpone the SK and barangay elections last July. #barangayelections

Some P5.77 billion for election-related expenses can be appropriated to relevant community projects that provide better services and improve lives for Filipinos, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar said on Wednesday.

“This is a way to materialize and put into effect the initiatives and projects being done by all barangay officials,” Andanar said as he welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte’s signing of Republic Act No. 11462 that postpones the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections from May 2020 to December 2022.

“With this, not only will the officials at the grassroots level be able to measure the success of their projects, they can adjust and replicate them as needed for a more substantial period,” he added.

The postponement would effectively extend the terms of office of incumbent SK and barangay officials who assumed their posts after the May 2018 elections.

With this in mind, Andanar said they will continue to monitor complaints being made by any of their respective constituents through the government’s Citizens’ Complaint Hotline 8888 to prevent lapses in government service delivery and to undermine potential anomalies or corruption.

Duterte asked Congress to postpone the SK and barangay elections last July.

The President likewise sought for the passage of a Magna Carta for barangays “to promote and ensure its welfare in recognition of its role in society as a basic political unit” during his fourth State of the Nation address in the same month.