Senate to prioritize bill postponing Barangay, SK polls

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on Tuesday said the Senate will be prioritizing the passage of a bill postponing the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections scheduled on October 25. “It will be certified, I am sure. We can pass that in one day," Enrile told reporters in an interview. Enrile was referring to Senate Bill No. 60, filed by Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, that seeks to move the October 2010 elections to October 2012. House Minority leader and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman has filed a similar bill in the House of Representatives. Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who heads the Senate committee on local government, said he has already consulted with several local officials and found that most of them want the Barangay elections to be postponed. He however said they have yet to decide whether to defer the elections by one or two years. “That period of postponement would have to be decided if we decide to postpone the elections." Zubiri said they might end up with a compromise deferment of one and a half years. He said they can probably pass the bill establishing this within a month. He said the postponement is important as it would give the government time to “raise funds" for the elections. Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesman James Jimenez said the upcoming barangay and SK polls will cost the government at least P3.2 billion. The Comelec had urged Congress not to postpone the October polls, citing the clamor of the voters for an election. - Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMANews.TV