PRESIDENTIAL Spokesman Harry Roque said Monday that the coming village and Sangguninag Kabataan elections and the 2019 local elections will push through, denying Senator Franklin Drilon’s allegation of a no-elections scenario.
Drilon earlier announced an alleged plot by the allies of President Rodrigo Duterte in Congress to railroad the amendment to the 1987 Constitution for a shift to federalism.
He said that would be done so they could cancel the barangay and SK elections this October and next year’s midterm elections in order to extend their terms.
“Find that comment from Senator Drilon strange because only last Friday, I was in a forum together with Senate President [Aquilino] Pimentel [III], and he declared to an audience of about 4,000 members of the Liga ng Barangay of Leyte that the barangay elections will push through,” Roque said.
He made the statement even as former Commission on Elections commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal assailed those pushing for another postponement of the barangay and SK elections.
“It’s unfortunate how some seem to trivialize and devalue the democratic process by belittling and toying around with the barangay elections,” Larrazabal said.
“The problem here is if you keep postponing the elections, you are actually devaluing the electoral process, you are trivializing the democratic process.”
Senator Panfilo Lacson said he was not inclined to support yet another postponement of the barangay elections, and especially if the sole purpose was to accommodate a plebiscite for Charter change.
Senator Joel Villanueva also said he was not aware of any move to railroad Charter change by deferring the coming barangay and SK elections.
Senator Bam Aquino said the barangay and SK elections should push through.
Pimentel and Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said the reports about the postponement of the elections was unclear.
Senators Nancy Binay and Risa Hontiveros said they hadn’t heard about any plan to defer the coming elections, but they would oppose it if there was.
Roque described Drilon’s statement as “speculative.”
He said while there was a pending bill in the House filed by Rep. Johnny Pimentel to suspend the barangay elections again, it was Pimentel himself who declared before an audience of 4,000 that there was no support in the Senate for another postponement of the barangay elections.
“This will belie already the statement of Senator Drilon. I’m just surprised that it’s coming from a minority senator,” Roque said.
“, It’s a minority senator that will insist that elections will push through, but it was actually the Senate president himself who informed the audience to prepare for the barangay elections in May.
“Since the first allegation of Senator Drilon was false, I’d rather not comment on the other allegations of Senator Drilon, and obviously because they are very speculative.”