Wednesday, September 05, 2007 Wenceslao: Stop toying with barangay polls By Bong O. Wenceslao Candid Thoughts
MY cousin Noel Wenceslao became barangay captain of Sambag 2 a few years after our former barangay chief Jessie Aznar won a Cebu City Council seat. Noel is still our barangay head while Noy Jessie has long been out of the Council. Like many other barangay captains in the country, Noel is a recipient of barangay polls postponements.
Sambag 2 residents may not have noticed the length of time Noel has served as barangay chief obviously because he is not a bad executive. But what of the other long-serving barangay captains who are corrupt, incompetent or abusive? The worst thing to happen to constituents is when they are deprived of a chance to change barangay chiefs.
That is why I see no reason why some members of the House of Representatives, Cebuanos among them, would still insist on seeking another postponement of the already postponed barangay elections scheduled next month. This is probably more so for the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls where age is a factor for one to become an SK officer.
Yet, the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms still had the gall to approve the postponement of the barangay and SK elections to May 2009.
But before incumbent barangay and SK officials rejoice, however, they should remember that the bill on the postponement will still pass the usual legislative route, and time is its enemy.
Rep. Raul del Mar expects the House to pass the postponement measure but the problem is with the opposition-dominated Senate. Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. has already expressed opposition to the move, for example. Without the Senate cooperating with efforts to speed up the passage of the postponement bill, the move will be scuttled.
Besides, Oct. 29 is just around the bend and some wannabes are going the rounds in the barangays, already spending money even, in preparation for the elections. I know because some of my friends have informed me about their poll bids. The best option for Congress, then, is to let go, although I doubt if its members share the view of the many.
Congressmen, and local government officials, are actually the ones more interested in the outcome of the elections than the candidates themselves.
They want their people to gain control of the barangays and thus strengthen their hold over towns, cities, provinces or districts under them. For that, they need time and money.
Having gone through an election in May that must have emptied their money vaults, congressmen and local government officials now need to postpone the barangay elections to be able to prepare well---meaning, to solicit funds or to get SOPs from pork barrel and other projects to support their bets. May 2009 is about the right time for that.
Public interest is therefore the least of the reasons for this push to postpone the barangay and SK elections. That is why there is a growing opposition from the grassroots to the move initiated by the House. This is because Congress has tampered with the full functioning of the democratic process in the barangays for far too long already.
Indeed, if our intention is to strengthen the barangay as the country’s basic political unit, then it’s time we stop toying with the barangay elections.
