Wednesday, September 26, 2007 Wenceslao: Devils’ pact in barangay polls By Bong O. Wenceslao Candid Thoughts
BARANGAY elections used to be less demanding and cheap. People had to be goaded to vote, more so run for a council post. I understand the same setup still prevails, but only in hinterland barangays. In most other areas, especially in the plains, barangay polls have become complicated and expensive, a miniature version of the national elections setup.
The same is true with the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections. I ran for the post of barangay councilor in our generation’s version of the SK, the Kabataang Barangay, in Sambag 2 (our candidate for chairman would later become our barangay captain, Noel Wenceslao). We did our campaign like it was a slightly bigger version of chapel polls.
There are many reasons why barangay elections have evolved into what it is now. But I can present two. One is the enactment of the Local Government Code, which raised the benefits for barangay officials and the earning of the barangays. The other is the interference of higher-level politicians, who want control of a territory, in the exercise.
Section 393 of the Code states: “Barangay officials, including barangay tanods and members of the lupong tagapamayapa, shall receive honoraria, allowances, and such other emoluments as may be authorized by law.” The rates vary depending on the share of barangays in taxes, internal revenue allotment, etc. Still, these are enough enticement.
Meddling of politicians at the barangay level, meanwhile, stems from two factors. One is the Code’s provision that allows heads of the association of barangay councils and the SK federations to sit in the municipal and city councils and provincial boards. Mayors and governors prefer their bets to sit in these legislative bodies, thus the intrusion.
Barangay officials also play an important role in gathering votes for candidates in the municipal, city, province and even national levels. That is why in assessing the chances of, say, a candidate for mayor in Cebu City, strategists do a head count of “their” barangay captains. That ensures the seeping into the barangays of the trapo culture.
Now, running a campaign in the barangays has become expensive. I know this because my father Tiyong launched unsuccessful tries, once for barangay captain and twice for barangay councilor in Sambag 2. My brother Maning also ran and lost twice for barangay councilor in Langub, Asturias. An important factor for the losses: money.
This despite constant admonition by the Commission on Elections to keep spending for barangay polls at a sane level. But like in higher-level elections, a candidate could not win if, one, he/she does not spend for election machinery and propaganda materials and, two, if he does not buy votes (the going rate varies from place to place).
That is why I won’t buy the line of traditional politicians (the recent one to have uttered it being Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña) that they won’t support candidates for the barangay elections scheduled for next month. This is because barangay candidates need the politicians’ money while politicians need barangay officials for future elections.
Call that the devils’ pact, one that has ruined the essence of barangay democracy.
