Tining Martinez III
WITH the deferment of the 2016 barangay elections to October next year, the fate of the chairmanship of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) Cebu Chapter is unclear.
With the dismissal from service of former ABC President Celestino “Tining” Martinez III last month, the association’s top seat remains vacant up to now and so with its ex-officio membership in the Cebu Provincial Board (PB).
Had the village polls pushed through this October, the ABC would have also gotten a new set of officers in an ABC election that would follow.
Cebu Vice Governor Agnes Magpale said that since ABC Vice President Emerito Calderon Sr. also vacated his post when he was elected mayor of Samboan town during the last elections, no one can take over the seat for now.
Magpale hoped that the ABC-Cebu Chapter and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) 7 could take the appropriate action on the matter.
In a talk with Cebu Daily News, DILG-7 Regional Director Rene Burdeos said that one way to resolve this would be for the ABC-Cebu Chapter to advise the national ABC board of the vacancy and conduct a special election.
“It should be them who will request for the election. The initiative should come from them and not from us,” Burdeo said.
Martinez, who was barangay captain of Cayang, Bogo City, was perpetually dismissed from service by the Ombudsman last month over his alleged involvement in a P6-million fertilizer scam in 2004 while he was still mayor of Bogo.