MANY of the village leaders are still asking the question if the village polls will be held as scheduled which is supposed to be in October this year. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is proceeding in their preparations albeit slowly.
Incontestably, the statement of President Rodrigo Duterte that 40 percent of village leaders in the country may have been involved in the drug trade, but that should not be made a reason to postpone for the second time the scheduled elections in October this year. The right of the people to choose their leaders just because of a police problem is not the correct move. Why don't they just file cases against those village leaders if there are some grounds? But by all means let's proceed with the village polls.
In the meanwhile, the Comelec has urged lawmakers to act immediately on the proposal to postpone the elections and that will include Youth Council polls. And in case, both chamber, Senate and the House of Representatives can pass in time the needed votes then President Duterte will make the appointments via the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). The other day, Senator Franklin Drilon expressed doubts that Congress can decide by July if the village polls will be postponed or not.
The task of appointing the thousand village captains and kagawads will create more problems than when it should have been through elections.
President Duterte may know only a handful of village leaders mostly from his Davao turf. In other parts of the country, he would rely on local mayors, congressmen and other political leaders. In cases where one congressman is making recommendations against the list submitted by the mayor of the town or city, political divisions can be expected.
At this early, no less than Senate President Koko Pimentel was quoted by a national daily that he was already getting reports that scammers are already using the name of PDP-Laban, and asking money from those who want to be appointed. Pimentel said incidents were monitored in Pampanga, Bicol and certain areas in Mindanao. Appointing people is messy.
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I think it may take a while for former Board Member Cris Garbo to enjoy the captain seat at the Office of the Mayor. More legal issues to settle by the courts for Garbo to relieve now acting Mayor Christian Halili. No Cris to Chris yet, by the looks of it.
Halili was able to secure a restraining order, and stopped Garbo from assuming the seat vacated by Mayor Marino Morales. Based on the order, the court said “the case of Halili and Garbo are complicated and unique and should be resolved in a full blown trial.” How long the trial will last? I believe even the judge wouldn't know at this time.
Tweets
- How many traffic enforcers the City of San Fernando has? Why can't the City Government field some on every intersection on the MacArthur highway stretch between Angeles and San Fernando?
- Congratulations to Ms. Mary Ann Mungcal, the newly crowned Miss Global Philippines. Pampanga is proud of you.
- Governor Lilia Pineda has no Facebook account. Her information officer Joel Mapiles made it clear to everyone.