Minority lawmakers slam plan to postpone barangay polls anew
MINORITY lawmakers on Tuesday rejected the proposal of President Rodrigo Duterte to postpone once again the scheduled barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections to May of next year, citing its negative effects to the country's democratic process.
In a press conference, Albay Representative Edcel Lagman said delaying the polls "trivializes" the constitutional right of people to exercise suffrage.
"This is a series of postponement in perpetuity derogating sovereignty...It trivializes our democratic processes, particularly so when what is being postponed is the election of the village officials at the grassroots," he said.
Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas announced Monday that lawmakers have reached a consensus to move the scheduled village and SK polls from October 2017 to May 2018, as requested by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Duterte previously justified his request to delay the polls by implicating "40 percent" of village chiefs to drug operations.
However, lawmakers refused to grant Duterte's wish to appoint barangay officials.
Lagman said, "barangay officials are classified by the Constitution as elective local officials, who are installed to office by electoral mandate, not appointment."
For his part, Magdalo Party-list Representative Gary Alejano criticized Duterte's failure to rid the barangays from drug-tainted officials.
He said the reason provided by Duterte for asking to delay this year's polls was the same justification he stated when he demanded that the 2016 village polls be moved.
"After one-year ng patayan, ng paghahabol sa drug lords and drug users and pushers, hindi pa ba sila (drug officials) na-control?" Alejano asked.
Alejano lamented why the government cannot just file charges or suspend the 40 percent of village polls allegedly linked to drugs.
"And why would you involve the 60 percent na hindi kasama doon sa suspect na kasama doon sa drug operation...Kung may pangalan kayo kasuhan n'yo," Alejano said. (SunStar Philippines)