THE Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) is preparing for the October barangay elections while there are two pending bills in Congress asking for its postponement.
DILG Assistant Secretary Epimaco Densing III said on Saturday, Aug. 12, the October 23 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections will push through.
"In fact the DILG is preparing for the upcoming barangay elections and Comelec (Commission on Elections) is already printing the ballots for the coming barangay and SK elections," he stressed in a media interview on Saturday.
Densing was here to speak before the participants of the International Youth Day celebration in Iloilo City.
The DILG official, however, also mentioned the possible postponement of October polls.
"I am saying that it is just as of today because we have two pending bills in the House of Representatives, bills that will supposed to postpone the elections," he said.
"We are already looking to that two bills, how they will progress in the Congress and if they progress and the President certifies it to be urgent then we have a possibility of potential postponement," he added.
If in case the October elections will be postponed, Densing said that the next issue is whether there will be appointment or a hold-over of incumbent barangay officials.
He also said that their position favors appointment of officials rather than a hold-over capacity.
Densing explained that President Rodrigo Duterte and the DILG want to postpone the elections to primarily take out barangay officials allegedly involved in illegal drugs trade.
"Because if they run in the elections, if they are incumbents and they have the backing of drug lords, they always have an advantage in elections.If we will take them out and appoint new officials, then, one year after, which will be the barangay elections, there will be an even playing field in the elections considering that the alledged drug lord or barangay officials involved in drugs are already out," he added.
While the DILG and Comelec are preparing for the October polls, Densing said preparations are also up in case it will be postponed and there will be appointments.
He said they already prepared the guidelines including the legal basis for appointment.
Under the administrative code, Densing said that "any vacancy in any executive position, the President is authorized to appoint vacancies in executive positions on a temporary basis up to one year."
A community panel will be created in each of the more or less 42,000 barangay nationwide to list down the nominees. These nominees should comply certain criterias lsuch as he or she should not be part of the derogatory list of DILG, among others.
Of the seven council members that will be appointed, there will also be representations of various sectors like youth sector, elderly, women sector, persons with disability, among others.
Densing advised the youth not to worry because whether or not the barangay and SK elections will push through, they will have representation in the barangay council. (PNA)