#wegotmail: October 30 should be judgment day against incompetent, corrupt, and unjust candidates

The Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan election (BSKE) on October 30, 2023 is the best time for Filipinos to keep in office the incumbents who performed well these past years, especially during the heights of the COVID-19 pandemic, and on the candidates who were also consistently active in public service.

It is also time to exclude from voting ballots, those who were not there when the community needed them most—the ones who only became active when they were preparing to campaign for the BSKE in recent weeks.

No amount of vote buying, drinking sprees, and personal gifts should sway voters to vote for bad candidates, especially the incompetents and those engaged in corruption, injustice, and suspicious activities.

To refresh the memories of the voters, the last time we had BSKE was on May 14, 2018. That 2018 election was the result of the BSKE being postponed twice, so by that time, the incumbents had been serving for five years already.

May 14, 2018, was five years ago, which is two years in excess of the 3-year term the present incumbents earned in 2018.

Tandaan nawa ng mga botante na limang taon nang nasa katungkulan ang mga incumbents na tumatakbo ngayon for re-election. Kaya dapat itanong ng mga botante sa kanilang sarili kung karapat-dapat pa bang manatili sila sa pwesto o dapat nang palitan. Kung dapat nang palitan, pumili sana ang mga botante ng mga kandidatong may kakayahan, makatarungan, at laban sa katiwalian.

Sabi ng Korte Suprema sa December 2025 pa ang susunod na BSKE “every three years thereafter, pursuant to RA 11462.”  The Supreme Court is well aware that the next BSKE is in December 2025 which is a little over 2 years from now and months short of the three years provided by the Local Government Code, as amended. But the three-year term is also restored thereafter.

The Supreme Court has set specific criteria “in determining the validity of any future laws or rules postponing elections.” The criteria are quite strict but must still be heeded because the Supreme Court is the final arbiter on constitutionality matters.

 The Supreme Court said in its decision promulgated on June 27, 2003 declaring RA 11935 unconstitutional:

 “Reasons such as election fatigue, purported resulting divisiveness, shortness of existing term, and/or other superficial or farcical reasons, alone, may not serve as important, substantial, or compelling reasons to justify the postponement of the elections. To be sufficiently important, the reason for the postponement must primarily be justified by the need to safeguard the right of suffrage or other fundamental rights or required by a public emergency situation.”  (emphasis and underlining ours)

- REP. KRISTINE ALEXIE BESAS TUTOR

Bohol 3rd District

Chair, Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation