Congress to thresh out final date for postponement of village polls

WITH the two houses of Congress having different suggested dates for the holding of Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in 2018, a lawmaker said Tuesday leaders must meet to come up with a common proposal.

Committee on suffrage and electoral reforms chairman Sherwin Tugna said the House version of bill postponing this year's village and youth polls to the second Monday of May 2018 is now up for third reading.

However, the Senate version is still pending at the committee level, with October 2018 being its target date.

"Palagay ko baka mag-usap yung leadership tungkol dyan kase dito naman sa lower house, in reality, when we passed [the bill] this last August 14, prior to that, meron nang August 7 na majority caucus, so ako, as chairman, I was fairly confident at that time na maipapasa ito," Tugna said.

With the original date of the polls scheduled this coming October 23, the contention may be costly.

Without a law delaying the elections, the Commission on Election (Comelec) continues to incur cost in printing ballots and other poll-preparation expenses.

But Tugna said he was able to get an assurance from Comelec Chairman Juan Andres Bautista that the printing has "slowed down" considering the expected approval of the measure.

"He (Bautista) said that they have already slowed down and to the point na halos itinigil na rin nila. So, kung tungkol sa pag-incur ng expenses, ang pagkakaintindi ko bilang chairman ng Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, natigil na ito," Tugna said.

If the proposal is approved, it will be the second postponement of the Barangay and SK elections.

President Rodrigo Duterte, justifying the postponements, said these will clean the grassroots from drug-tainted village officials as he alleged that as much as "40 percent" of them are involved in the narcotics trade. (SunStar Philippines)

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