Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri is willing to postpone for a year the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections scheduled this December.
Zubiri, who is expected to be the next Senate president of the 19th Congress, cited the huge savings for the government if the local elections will be rescheduled.
Zubiri said that more than P8 billion worth of savings would be needed if SK and barangay elections would push through, GMA News reported.
“Personally, if the President asks for one year to postpone [the SK and barangay elections] so that we have some funds for the needs of our poor countrymen… I’m willing to postpone, maybe for a maximum of 1 year,” Zubiri, quoted by GMA News, said. “Second, this is to match the 5-year terms of SK and barangay officials, I think the President wants 5 years… don’t worry, the barangay and SK will have elections before the 2025 elections.”
Zubiri earlier said the Senate will wait for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) before making a decision on the said elections.
Earlier reports said Commission on Elections (Comelec) acting spokesperson Rex Laudiangco earlier asked Congress to decide immediately as the poll regulator is already preparing for the barangay and SK polls which is set on December 5.
The lawmaker meanwhile said he is supporting the President’s plan for government-to-government (G2G) partnerships to lower prices of fertilizers.
Marcos Jr., who concurrently heads the Department of Agriculture (DA), said the government could avail of cheaper fertilizers through G2G deals.
“They want to help us, so why don’t we take advantage of that,” Marcos said in Filipino during a meeting at the Bureau of Soils and Water Management Convention Hall in Quezon City. “Give us fertilizer at a better price. That’s the whole point of G2G.”
The President said he is looking at deals with China, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and Russia for the procurement of fertilizers.
The President asked agriculture officials to provide data on the source of and price of fertilizers, as well as on the department’s distribution plan during the planting season.