EVERY time a barangay election is scheduled, there are always calls by incumbent barangay officials for postponement, which means extension of their terms of office.
The granting of this demand did seem to come easy under the administration of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
So if the government of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is really for change, then it should not ape what the Arroyo administration did.
Reasons to postpone the barangay polls are as easy to come by now as these were in the past.
One of these has already been rehashed to staleness: The country is in dire straits and it is costly to hold another election after the last one (in this year’s case, the May 10 elections).
It’s a convenient claim that is no different from parents raising the specter of ghosts so children won’t venture out of the house at night.
And it is lame considering that the budget deficit is here to stay for a few more years and the economic crunch has still to depart from this country’s shores.
What assurance is there that we will be better off at the very same time the postponed elections will be held?
‘Pang-barangay’
The barangay is supposed to be the foundation of our political set-up, the reason it should not be disrespected.
Yet we seem to treat barangay elections the way people view sporting activities held in the barangays.
When for example a basketball tournament is conducted shoddily or unprofessionally, we often hear comments referring to the tournament derisively as, “morag liga sa barangay.”
It’s time to change that perception, and this is a challenge to government primarily.
Regular activity
With the success of the recent computerized elections, there have been calls for barangay polls to head to that direction, through probably not
immediately.
It is a reasonable proposal so barangay poll will gain the respect it needs.
But the main concern for now is to ensure that barangay elections are held regularly and not postponed like an ordinary sporting tournament.
Our brand of democracy is best served if government is constantly refreshed by allowing the people to change or retain elective officials every so often.
That should apply to “lowly” barangays, too.