It’s final: Barangay, SK polls postponed to May 2018

IT’S now official. The barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections have been postponed to May next year.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law on Tuesday Republic Act 10953 postponing the barangay and SK elections to the second week of May 2018, according to the copy of the law released by Malacañang yesterday.

The new law was signed less than a month before the scheduled barangay and SK elections on October 23.

The law stated “incumbent barangay officials shall remain in office” until their successors shall have been duly elected and qualified.

It said the subsequent synchronized barangay and SK elections shall be held on the second Monday of May 2020 and every three years thereafter.

The postponement means that the gun ban that was implemented nationwide since October 1 has also been lifted and that all checkpoints set up to enforce the gun ban have also been withdrawn.

Chief Supt. Jose Mario Espino, Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) director, said they would immediately cease implementing the Commission on Elections (Comelec) gun ban and stop conducting election-related checkpoints. But regular police checkpoints in random places in the region as part of the police’s anti-crime operation would continue, he added.

He said they would also withdraw cases filed against gun ban violators in the region.

“During our command conference (on Tuesday), we are told that our legal service will help us withdraw our cases against those persons who violated the Comelec gun ban,” Espino said.

But the police could still file illegal possession of firearms if the arrested person did not have a license to carry a firearm, he said.

“Nahuli sila sa (They were arrested in the) checkpoint, but if they are carrying firearms without any license they can still be sued. Ang mawawala lang is yung (But they will no longer be liable for) violation of the Omnibus Election Code,” Espino said.

Since the gun ban was implemented last Monday until yesterday, the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) has arrested three violators while the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) arrested two violators.

Prior to the announcement of the postponement of the barangay and SK polls, Col. Medel Aguilar, deputy chief of the unified staff of the Civil Military Operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command (Centcom), was quoted as saying that they were already preparing to assist the Philippine National Police (PNP) in manning checkpoints in order to implement the gun ban.

Comelec to proceed with preparations

Except for lifting the gun ban yesterday, Cebu Provincial Election Supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano said they would have to wait for further instructions from their central office on what to do next in relation to the barangay and SK elections.

As of September 30, Castillano said Comelec has printed more than 50 million ballots, which is more than half of the 72 million ballots set to be printed for the barangay and the SK elections in the entire country. For Cebu, Comelec has identified 2.8 million registered voters for the twin polls.

“We already printed more than 50 million ballots four days ago. But seeing that President Duterte (has) signed into law the postponement of the barangay elections, they will be stored in the National Printing Office as of now,” added Castillano.

He also said it would be up to the Comelec’s en banc to decide whether or not the printed ballots may be used for the May 2018 elections. But since the barangay elections are not automated, it was possible that the same ballots could be used in May 2018, particularly since the candidates’ names were yet to be printed on the ballots, he added.

As to the cost incurred by Comelec in preparing for and printing the ballots of the barangay and SK polls, Castillano said it was estimated to be nearly P600 million.

The budget for the May 2018 polls, according to Castillano, would be taken from what would be left of the funds allocated for the postponed October 23 elections. But in the case that it would be insufficient, Comelec could request for additional funding from Congress, he added.

“Our budget (for the May 2018 elections) is still continuing appropriation. Meaning, the budget for the October elections will be used for the May 2018 elections. But in case it will not be enough, then we will have to ask for more,” he added.

But nevertheless, the Comelec officer said they are looking forward to the May 2018 elections to push through, especially with several advantages they observed such as prevailing, fine weather and vacant schools.

“May is summer, right? So this also gives us the advantage in conducting the elections. That’s summer so rain is rare. This means that chances are high materials and ballots from Manila will be shipped without any weather disturbance causing their delay. And our teachers, as well as our classrooms, are free for poll duties so it’s not an additional burden on their part,” stated Castillano.

Postponing democracy

While many officials were not surprised by and have no objection to the postponement of the barangay and SK polls, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña expressed disappointment that the twin polls would not push through.

Osmeña said the barangay and SK elections is part of the democratic process that should have not been postponed.

“Do you want to postpone democracy? The answer is no. We just would like to remind the people that the essence of democracy is the selection of leaders by the people. That is why you call it democratic,” he said. He, however, stressed that his position on the barangay and SK polls should not be construed as him standing against the Duterte administration.

“Don’t interpret it that I am anti-Duterte. I am just pro-democracy. Regardless of who is the president, you should not postpone the democratic process,” the mayor said.

Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto, however, said the postponement could be beneficial for the citizens.

“(The postponement) gives our people a breathing space from another electoral skirmishes,” he said in a press conference here yesterday.

Moreover, Chatto said that the time before the elections could also be used to strengthen the sub-villages in his province.

“On our part, it’s an opportunity to strengthen our puroks (sub villages),” he said.

Cebu City Councilor Philip Zafra, the village chief of Tisa who sits in the City Council as president of the city’s Association of Barangay Councils (ABC), also welcomed the postponement, saying it would give the village leaders like him the chance to intensify their programs and extend basic services to their people.

“We can now focus more on our job and that this will be a challenge for us all to do more and to give more in service. There are many challenges ahead such as the worsening problem on drainage, garbage and dilapidated roads,” he said.

Msgr. Ruben Labajo, the Cebu Archdiocesan spiritual director, was meanwhile hoping that the President would fulfill his promise that he would not be appointing interim barangay officials and that the elections should already through by May 2018. / USJR JOURNALISM INTERN PATRICIA ERLAINE N. LUARDO