President Rodrigo Duterte has left Congress to decide if the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections should be postponed again, as he warned about local officials that would use drug money to influence the polls.
The President said he told Special Assistant Christopher “Bong” Go to tell lawmakers his position on the postponement.
“It’s their choice. Hardly if it’s ours. If we add our input they’ll just say… [we’re] dictatorial, we don’t want an election,’” he said in a speech late Thursday in Davao City.
Duterte blamed the “bright minds” for the doubt over the polls scheduled for May 14.
“They think we’re the only stupid ones. So I said, election, okay. It’s your decision,” he added.
Duterte reminded the public the country’s drug situation remains “very alive and vicious.”
He warned that if the barangay captains backed by drug money win, it would lead to more battles with criminals and deaths.
“I have not said whether there will or will not be an election. But I will never, never until the end of my term, to the last day, allow a government official to use his power or position as a platform to engage in criminality, especially drugs,” the President said.
Originally scheduled in October 2016, the barangay and SK elections were postponed to the next year. Congress then moved it to May this year, which Duterte signed into law in October 2017.
However, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel has filed a bill to move the elections this October, while Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali said the local polls can be held simultaneously with the May 2019 midterm elections.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the House supermajority wants to get rid of the elections and allow for an extension of their term of office through Charter change, which congressmen would supposedly “railroad” and submit it to a plebiscite together with the barangay and SK elections in October or November.