Wednesday, September 05, 2007 Lack of funds hampers holding of bry., SK polls
THE House of Representatives can approve the consolidated bills seeking the postponement of the barangay and youth elections in a week’s time, but Rep. Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south) is not optimistic the Senate will approve the measures.
Cuenco said yesterday that only about 20 to 25 lawmakers in the House are opposed to the postponement of the synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections on Oct. 29.
But in the Senate, opposition Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. already said he will block the postponement and other opposition senators are expected to do the same.
“We are very optimistic about the passage in the House but I’m not optimistic about the approval in the Senate. Senator Pimentel will surely oppose it and he wields a lot of influence in the Senate,” Cuenco told Sun.Star Cebu.
Pimentel sits as a member of the Senate committee on local government and committee on elections.
The bills seeking to postpone the elections were already approved at the House committee on suffrage and elections.
By Monday, the committee on rules is expected to present the bills on the floor for debate during a plenary, and Cuenco said the debates may last three days, after which they will be ready to vote.
“After its approval, it will be transmitted to the Senate but if the senators will not act on it, then it will not be approved before the holding of the elections as scheduled. I think they will just sit on it until it’s too late to postpone the elections,” Cuenco said.
He said opposition lawmakers are expected to block the postponement and let the elections push through so they can vote out barangay officials who are allied with the administration.
But the lack of funds may also hamper the holding of the barangay and SK elections next month, said an Association of Bara-ngay Councils (ABC) official yesterday.
Talisay City ABC president Osmundo Manreal Jr. described as “not feasible” the suggestion that the barangays contribute at least 25 percent from their local funds for the election expenses.
“It’s no longer practical because the barangays have already used up the bulk of their budget to various projects this time of the year,” he added.
He said the bara-ngays can only slash part of their annual funds if the elections are to be held early next year.
Manreal, village chief of Pook, said he assumed that the barangays can already get their annual budget, including the Internal Revenue Allotment, in the first quarter of next year.
The ABC chief believes that the poll budget will be the determining factor on whether to push through with the Oct. 29 barangay and SK elections.
Rep. Eduardo Gullas (Cebu, 1st district) was among the lawmakers who filed a bill seeking the postponement of the barangay and SK polls to next year.
Gullas has expressed fear that the barangay elections may trigger further inflation and spoil the country’s economic gains.
The Commission on Elections, he said, will also have to spend anywhere from P2.8 billion to P3.3 billion for the October polls.
For his part, Councilor Rodi Cabigas said he is in favor of pushing through with the elections this year, saying it’s long overdue. The last barangay election was held in 2002 yet.
Noting the below-par performance of some village officials, Cabigas said the October elections will give other residents a chance to serve. (LCR/GC)
