The president of the Liga ng mga Barangay (LMB) in Tagbilaran City welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte’s call for the 18th Congress to postpone the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections from May 2020 to October 2022, but said that he was not surprised by the Chief Executive’s decision.
“Ato ng gi-welcome na…para pud madungagan ang atong effort, paningkamot para sa kaayuhan sa atong mga barangay. In fact, medyo nahibaw na ta bahin ana,” said San Isidro, Tagbilaran City Barangay Captain Fausto “Bebot” Budlong, noting that Senator Bong Go hinted at the poll postponement during his visit to the city earlier this month.
According to Budlong, who is also the auditor of LMB-Bohol, the postponement is only apt considering that they were only given two years to serve following their election in 2018.
Duterte during his fourth State of the Nation Address on Monday asked Congress to facilitate the postponement “to rectify the truncated terms.”
The postponement would also provide barangay officials “with the ample time to finish their programs and projects.”
Duterte by signing Republic Act 10952 had earlier postponed the barangay and SK elections from October 2017 to May 2018.
The law stipulates that the next Barangay and SK polls will be held on May 2020, reducing the terms of candidates who won in the May 2018 elections to only two years, instead of three.
In 2016, Duterte said the elections needed to be postponed as he claimed that many barangay officials were involved in the narcotics trade and wealthy drug personalities might use their influence to affect the polls. (R. Tutas)