MANILA (UCAN): Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Manila, has questioned the Philippine government’s decision to further delay the holding of barangay (village) and Sangguniang Kabataan or youth council elections that were set for May next year.
“I do not know what kind of message (the government) is sending,” he said, adding that the country’s leaders seem not to value the barangay and youth elections which have already been postponed three times since 2016.
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte signed legislation on December 3 postponing the elections to December 2022. As such, the terms of office of incumbent officials will be extended.
Cabinet secretary, Karlo Nograles, said the reason for the deferment was “to improve public services and make local governance more responsive to the needs of the people.”
Earlier, the election watchdog, National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections, criticised the move, saying it needed a legal basis.
It said the “necessary condition” stipulated by law to justify a deferment was missing.
The resetting of elections is only justified if there is the presence of “violence, terrorism, loss or destruction of election paraphernalia or records, force majeure,” among others, it said in a statement.
“None of these conditions exist, and no such consultations with the voting public ever took place,” the election watchdog said.
It has consistently lobbied against moves to reset the date of any electoral activity because it violates the rights of voters to pick their elected officials in a regular manner.
But with the elections officially postponed, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) said it would now concentrate preparing for the May 2022 presidential polls.
“(COMELEC) will now focus its energies on preparing for the 2022 national and local elections,” said the commission’s spokesperson, James Jimenez
During his State of the Nation Address in July, Duterte had called on legislators to defer the elections to give his administration time to reform the village and youth council system.
The barangay is the smallest government administrative division in cities and towns. Voters elect a chairperson and seven councilors who make up the barangay council.
Voters aged between 15- and 17-years-old vote in elections for youth councils that will also be led by a chairperson and seven councillors.
The youth chairperson also serves as a member of a barangay council.
