OUTGOING Davao City Mayor and presumptive Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio supports the proposed postponement of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, which is set to be held in December 2022.
"Well, I do think na mas maayo kung i-postpone nato ang atong (it is better to postpone the) barangay elections because we can save money dinha sa pagpahigayon og (from the conduct of) elections, which the new administration can use sa mga mas importante na butang sa pagkakaron na epekto tungod sa (to other important things as of now due to the current effect of the) economic downturn that we see all around the world," Duterte-Carpio said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio on Monday, May 23.
The mayor, however, said that the postponement of the barangay elections would still require a bill from Congress.
She said, though, that there is nothing wrong in having the national and local elections, and the barangay and SK elections in the same year.
In November 2021, a bill was filed at the House of Representatives seeking to postpone the December 2022 barangay and SK elections to May 2024.
Under Republic Act 9340, barangay and SK elections in the Philippines are held every three years but these are often delayed. Since 2018, barangay elections have been postponed thrice. The coming December 2022 elections should have been held in May 2020.