NOW that the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation (SKF) poll in Cebu City is over, it’s time for barangay captains to prepare to choose officials of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC).
Next month, all 80 village chiefs will elect an ABC president, with reelected Barangay Captains Franklyn Ong (Kasambagan) and Phillip Zafra (Tisa) likely to vie for the position.
The ABC president will sit as an ex-officio member of the City Council.
Ong is Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan’s (BOPK) ally, while the opposition wants Zafra to keep his post as ABC head.
BOPK has secured another seat in the council with the election of Jessica Resch as Sangguniang Kabataan Federation (SKF) president, and it only needs Ong to win to completely tip the scales in favor of the administration party.
At present, BOPK and the opposition each have eight councilors, including Zafra.
Despite Resch’s addition, Mayor Tomas Osmeña earlier said the group will not be complacent on their numbers in the council until the ABC election is finished.
Should he be elected, Ong said he wants to review the financial reports of the ABC, and check the benefits and contributions it has for the barangays. He also wants to coordinate with the City Barangay Affairs Office on services like garbage disposal and releasing of cash honorarium for barangay workers, among others.
“We will help each other while understanding the difficulties encountered by our barangays. If I’m given the opportunity, I want unity for all regardless of affiliation. I would try to do my best to give everybody a share,” Ong said.
Prior to his stint as village chief, Ong was elected as president of the Barangay Councils League of the Philippines (BCLP) Cebu City Chapter in 2010. He was elected as national vice president for the Visayas in the following year.
In 2012, Ong was elected BCLP national president and filled the post vacated by Barangay Moonwalk, Parañaque City councilman Julio Jaime, who was accused of running a scam.
Zafra, on the other hand, plans to maintain existing programs of the ABC and hold seminar workshops for newly elected barangay and SK officials, and treasurers and secretaries. He also said that the ABC board will continue to lobby in Congress for the passage of a bill that will make the positions of barangay secretary and treasurer permanent.
From a councilor’s executive assistant, Zafra became former mayor Michael Rama’s chief of staff before becoming barangay captain of Tisa. In December 2013, he won the presidency of the ABC.
“This is not all about me or Ong, but Cebu City and the ABC. I am hoping that our barangay captains will view the issue from that aspect. I am independent-minded and it is important to maintain check and balance in the council,” Zafra said.