Barangay, SK polls postponement to benefit pro-poor programs

Sen. Bong Go is one of the authors of the proposal to reset the barangay ang SK polls from 2020 to 2022.

The bill postponing the barangay (village) and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections was approved by the Senate on second reading Tuesday.

If passed into law, Senate Bill No. 1043 will reset the elections from May 2020 to 5 December 2022 while subsequent elections will be held on the first Monday of 2025 and every three years thereafter.

Go has always been vocal in supporting the postponement, stating that barangay officials must be given ample time to perform their mandates.

“Hindi po kasalanan ng mga barangay official ang postponement ng nakaraang eleksyon. Dapat lang sila mabigyan ng sapat na oras para maimplementa ang mga programa nila para sa kanilang mga pinaglilingkuran,” Go said.

“Mga barangay natin ang pinaka-frontline ng ating gobyerno sa paghahatid ng serbisyo at sa kampanya natin laban sa iligal na droga at kriminalidad. Kaya dapat lang na mabigyan natin sila ng oportunidad at sapat na oras upang makapagpatupad ng kani-kanilang mga programa at proyekto.”

Go himself filed in July SB 201, his own version of the bill. At the committee level, Go’s bill was consolidated with SBs 222, 671, 869 and 875, resulting in SB 1043.

Go explained during the interpellation that his proposal would give the next elected president and new barangay officials the opportunity to work and accomplish programs together.

“The interval would grant the next elected president and barangay officials the opportunity to work hand in hand and accomplish their projects and programs together,” Go said.

The senator cited that at the time President Rodrigo Duterte was elected in 2016, it took two years before new barangay and SK officials were elected.

“If we move the next barangay elections following or immediately after the national elections in 2022, we would then have a new set of leaders from the barangay all the way to the national level. The next administration can buckle down and set a new direction,” Go explained.

The senator also pointed out that the shorter gap between the national and the barangay elections “would mean a shorter waiting time for them to be able to work collectively and, in effect, align their agenda, direction, objectives, and programs sooner, ultimately for the benefit of the people who placed them in office.”

While elated that the proposed postponement of the elections has gained support in the Upper House, Go also stressed the need for a magna carta for barangays to promote the welfare of barangay officials and address the daily issues faced by the country’s smallest unit of governance.

The senator filed SB 391 in July which provides for the Magna Carta for Barangays. Once passed into law, barangay and SK officials will be entitled to salaries, emoluments, allowances, such as hazard pay, representation and transportation allowance, 13th month pay and other benefits given to regular government employees.