House panel OKs postponement of barangay, SK elections anew

The House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms on Monday approved yet another proposed postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, this time, to the second Monday of October 2018, or on October 8.

With a vote of 14 in the affirmative and two in the negative, the panel approved the motion of Deputy Speaker Gwen Garcia to postpone the barangay and SK elections.

Panel members who voted for the proposal were:

1.     Raneo Abu (Batangas 2nd District)
2.     Magnolia Antonio (Nueva Ecija 4th District)
3.     Robert Ace Barbers (Surigao Del Norte 2nd District)
4.     Winston Castelo (Quezon City 2nd District)
5.     Fredenil Castro (Capiz)
6.     Luisa Loren Cuaresma (Nueva Vizcaya)
7.     Gwendolyn Garcia (Cebu 3rd District)
8.     Benhur Lopez Jr. (YACAP party-list)
9.     Rodante Marcoleta (SAGIP party-list)
10.     Vini Nola Ortega (ABONO party-list)
11.     Joseph Stephen Paduano (ABANG-LINGKOD party-list)
12.     Jose Panganiban Jr. (ANAC-IP party-list)
13.     Xavier Jesus Romualdo (Camiguin)
14.     Deogracias Victor Savellano (Ilocos Sur 1st District)

Further, 17 members of the committee voted to approve the motion of Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu to move the elections to the second Monday of October 2018.

The House panel was deliberating the four bills filed in seeking the postponement of the scheduled May 14, 2018 elections.

These include House Bill 7072 filed by Surigao del Sur Representative Johnny Pimentel, House Bill 7128 filed by ANAC-IP party-list Representative Jose Panganiban Jr., House Bill 7167 filed by Oriental Mindoro Representative Reynaldo Umali, and House Bill 7217 filed by Samar Representative Edgar Sarmiento.

The Pimentel and Panganiban bills seek to postpone the elections to October 2018, while the Umali bill proposed that the elections be moved to May 2019.

Meanwhile, Sarmiento's proposal seeks to postpone the elections to May 2020.

In an ambush interview following the hearing, House panel chair Sherwin Tugna pointed out that the main reason for postponing the elections is to synchronize it with the plebiscite on the "assumption" that there will be deliberations on the shift to a federal form of government.

"Pagdating ng October 2018, dun na isasabay yung plebisito on the assumption na magkakaroon ng deliberation sa new form of government between this period up to October 2018," Tugna told reporters.

"Meron talaga kasing gumagalaw na isang committee rito na dinedeliberate yung federal form of government. Nandiyan din yung on the side naman ng executive department. They will make proposals on the amendment of the Constitution," he added.

During the hearing, Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas national president Edmund Abesamis expressed support to the postponement of the elections.

He even said that the group's support to the proposal is not for "self-service and parochial reasons."

Comelec ready for May polls

But for Commission on Elections Election and Barangay Affairs Department director Teopisto Elnas Jr., the agency is already prepared to hold the elections this May.

"Kung hindi ipo-postpone, actually handa na kami to conduct the elections," Elnas told reporters in an ambush interview.

Elnas added that postponing the elections to a later date may do more bad than good.

"Kung October 2018, baka yung ballpen natin diyan mayroon tayong problema kasi last year pa natin nabili yan. Other forms natin, mga supplies baka may complication yan," he said.

"For instance, sa indelible ink, yung quality baka maapektuhan na rin because of the time. Medyo malayo-layo na rin ang time mula nabili hanggang sa gagamitin," he added.

Tugna is expecting the panel's committee report postponing the elections anew will be discussed on second reading in the plenary on Tuesday.

"Sa palagay ko bukas na ito. Pineprepare ngayon yung naaprubahan na committee report tapos ikakalendaryo bukas for plenary debate," he said.

Should the proposed October 2018 elections be approved into law, it would be the third time that the Barangay and SK elections would be moved to a later date, after it has been previously postponed from October 2016 and October 2017. — RSJ, GMA News