Comelec: Repeated postponement of barangay polls no threat to democracy

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday said that the repeated postponement of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections is no threat to democracy, saying such postponement is allowed under the 1987 Constitution.

Comelec spokesperson and lawyer John Rex Laudiangco made the position a day after Congress leaders submitted to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. the approved bill postponing the barangay and youth polls to October 2023.

"Comelec implements the law, and we leave the political discussion to the legislative and the executive department, and we respect their authority provided under Article 10 of the Constitution [which provides that term of barangay officials will be set by law]. [Pero] hindi naman po ito threat to democracy for the very reason na hindi naman po ilalagay ng framers ng ating Constitution iyong provision na iyon sa Article 10 [kung threat ito]," Laudiangco said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.

(The framers of our Constitution won't include that provision in Article 10 if that is a threat to our democracy.)

Article 10, Section 8 of the Constitution states that "the term of office of elective local officials, except barangay officials which shall be determined by law, shall be three years and no such official shall serve for more than three consecutive terms."

The Comelec spokesperson then cited that the poll body respects the take of lawmakers who want to give incumbent barangay and SK polls the chance to serve since the COVID-19 pandemic sidelined many government programs.

"Iginagalang po natin ang pahayag ng Kongreso for the reason na dahil sa pandemya, dalawa at kalahating taon po ang nawala sa termino ng mga barangay at SK officials. Hindi nila na-implement ang kanilang programs," he pointed out.

(We respect the opinion of Congress for the reason that because of the pandemic, two and a half years were taken from the terms of barangay and SK officials. They were not able to implement their programs.)

"May mga budget na hindi na-release since all [of the allocation] was dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic response," Laudiangco added.

(There were some funds that were not released since all the budget was dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic response.)

Lastly, the Comelec spokesperson also cited the deep ties among those vying for barangay and SK elective posts.

"Siguro talaga pong masyadong  personal ang issue ng barangay and SK elections...Ang magkakalaban ay magkakapitbahay, magkakamag-anak... Iyong proseso po kasi masyadong nakaugat sa bahay at sa pamayanan," he said.

(The issue of barangay and SK elections is really personal. Those vying for posts are neighbors and relatives. The process deeply involves the family and community.)

"Masyadong personal po siguro. Masyadong mataas ang emosyon ng ating mga kababayan. Sa Pasay po, magkalaban, mag-ama. Ganun po talaga kalalim," the Comelec spokesperson added.

(It is maybe too personal. The emotions are so high among our countrymen. In Pasay, for instance, a father and son are running against each other. It is that deep.)

In the event that Marcos signs the proposed postponement into law, it will mark the second time of postponement since 2018 when the last barangay and youth polls were held. It will also be the fourth time the polls were postponed since 2016.

Marcos will probably sign into law the bill on the postponement of the 2022 barangay and SK elections, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said on Tuesday. —KG, GMA News