A lawmaker on Saturday backed calls to defer the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections to ensure continuity in the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Isabela Rep. Faustino Dy V, former president of the Liga ng mga Barangay, filed House Bill (HB) 1138, proposing to reset the barangay and SK elections from December 5, 2022 to October 23, 2023.
HB 1138 stated that “until the successors have been duly elected and qualified, all incumbent barangay officials shall remain in office, unless sooner removed or suspended for cause.”
The House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms last Tuesday voted to postpone the village and youth elections from the scheduled December 5, 2022 to the first Monday of December 2023.
At the hearing, Dy justified his proposed measure, noting that “until the WHO (World Health Organization) finally declares the pandemic is over, the country should not let its guard down in dealing with the virus.”
“Our barangay officials, the sangguniang kabataan included, have been doing the heavy-lifting in the fight against COVID-19,” Dy said.
He explained that as government frontliners, “barangay official have been active in information campaign drives against the virus, in implementing health protocols, in ensuring all forms of government assistance are orderly distributed, and taking an active role to make sure that the country’s vaccination program is efficiently implemented.”
“It is imperative, if not crucial, to ensure continuity in government response,” Dy added.
Dy also mentioned that the Barangay and SK elections should be held every 5 years thereafter to ensure that medium term plans at the grassroot level are better implemented.
The Department of Health reported that there were 28,008 new COVID-19 cases from August 8 to 14, or an average of 4,001 new cases a day.
“By postponing the 5 December 2022 barangay and SK elections to the fourth Monday of October 2023, we not only ensure that we have battle tested frontliners until the pandemic is finally over, but we also have the opportunity to use the funds initially allotted for barangay and SK elections to much-needed social protection programs for the people,” Dy said.