THE House of Representatives supports the call of President Rodrigo Duterte for the postponement of the barangay elections in October this year, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said on Wednesday.
“We support the President in his desire to postpone the barangay elections this October. The main reason for the postponement was to get rid of barangay officials involved in illegal drugs,” Alvarez told a radio interview.
Alvarez said Duterte was concerned that if the elections were held in October as originally scheduled, the candidates backed by money from drug lords would likely win.
He said it would help Congress act on the proposed measures for the postponement of the October elections if the President would certify the bill as urgent.
“We will also ask the President to certify it as urgent,” Alvarez said.
Several bills have been pending in the House of Representatives seeking the postponement of the synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls in October.
These bills will possibly be tackled once the Second Regular Session of Congress starts following the State of the Nation Address of the President on July 24, Alvarez said.
If the October elections were postponed, Alvarez said it would be necessary to appoint officers-in-charge since the incumbent barangay officials are no longer entitled to remain in their respective positions in a holdover capacity.
Alvarez said the law that Congress would pass for the postponement of the October elections would also contain necessary provisions authorizing the appointment of OICs, possibly through the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
He said the OICs would remain in their position until the election of new set of barangay officials.
Alvarez said that aside from allowing the government to thwart the growing influence of drug lords over the barangays, postponing the October barangay and SK polls would save the government money.
Besides, Alvarez noted that while barangay officials were supposed to be non-partisan, the reality was that politics had greatly influenced barangay elections, as indicated in often-bitter election contests in the country’s villages.
Alvarez said he and Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III have discussed the issue and were in agreement on the necessity of the postponement of the October elections.
Meanwhile, Alvarez appealed to all those attending the second Sona of President Duterte on Monday to dress up in simple business attire.
Instead of spending on expensive designer clothes, Alvarez said it would be better if Sona guests would dress simply and donate their savings to victims of the Marawi conflict.