THE changing of purok leaders should be at the discretion of the barangay captain, an official from the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Davao Region reminded the public.
DILG-Davao Regional Director Alex Roldan said that it is the barangay captain’s discretion to retain purok leaders or not since they serve as the eyes and ears of the barangay captain to help in addressing the needs of the community.
“Dinha na na mosulod ang panginahanglanon sa purok leader, maong every time mobago ang kapitan, naa ra sa iyahang discretion magpili (This is how the need for purok leader comes in, that’s why for barangay captains, it should be their discretion) [to change or retain the purok leader],” Roldan said.
He also said barangay captains can also opt for purok leaders to be elected by the community.
If the barangay captain appoints someone other than the elected purok leader by their community, the purok leader should respect this decision.
“Kung gikuha ka as purok leader sa barangay kapitan, kana sa purpose na naa siyay contact dihang lugara para magtan-aw sa kahimtang sa purok (If you are appointed to become the purok leader of a specific area in the barangay, it is for the purpose of having someone to contact in that area to assess the situation),” Roldan said.
“So kung gipili sa purok ilahang leader mao poy gipili sa kapitan well and good, pero og dili pod, pulihan sa kapitan wala jud moy mahimo ana (Therefore, if the purok leader is chosen by the residents in the area and by the barangay captain, then well and good. But if not, and the barangay captain would choose someone other than the elected purok leader by the community then you have no choice because there is nothing that can be done about it),” he added.
While purok leaders are appointed by the barangay captain as what has been generally the practice in Davao City, Roldan said there are other areas in Region 11 where purok leaders are elected.
Electing of purok leaders usually creates a potential conflict with the authority of the barangay captain. This is because there are ordinances in other local government units (LGUs) mandating honorariums for the purok leaders. However, some city councilors cannot challenge amending the existing ordinance, afraid that they may lose if purok leaders would campaign against them.
“Karon kung tanggalon na nang ordinansaha kinsa man karon ang isog-isog na konsehal na mo-move na ipabalewala na o tanggalon na nga maong ordinansa… na kabalo siya nga ang mga purok leader nga nagdawat sa munisipyo, basig mawalaag honorarium, edi sunod eleksyon di ka kadaog kay mangampanya man to kontra nimo (Who can challenge that existing ordinance which mandates honorariums to purok leaders? If that happens, it could possibly squander the councilors’ chances for re-election because purok leaders may campaign against them),” Roldan said.
It can be noted that Roldan said that a three-week transition period and turning over of workloads from incumbent leaders to the newly-elected barangay officials should be enough for the newly-elected officials to take over smoothly. ICE