MANILA, Philippines – As the Commission on Elections (Comelec) continues to prepare for the October 23, 2017 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, it awaits the Senate’s decision on the postponement of the polls.

At the Senate electoral reforms committee hearing on Thursday, August 24, Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista urged Congress to decide on the postponement, as the village elections are less than two months away.

“Our dilemma in Comelec is that, if no such law is passed, then… we have to conduct elections,” said Bautista.

“We were told that the direction of the House was really to try to postpone,” he added. “But we have not gotten a similar ‘feel’ with that in the Senate.”

The House of Representatives committee on suffrage and electoral reforms agreed on August 14 to postpone the barangay and SK elections to May 2018. Incumbent village officials will be remain in their posts until then. The proposed House bill seeking a postponement will be up for second reading.

President Rodrigo Duterte would like to appoint interim barangay captains and kagawads instead, a move that some camps say is unconstitutional.

Bautista noted that their position on the postponement remains neutral. However, he said the Comelec is already incurring costs, like the printing of official ballots, which started on August 9.

“If you tell us that the direction is we would have a law in place before October 23, then we can really cut down on our preparation costs,” he added.

If ever the barangay and SK elections are postponed, Bautista said the poll body prefers it to be moved to either May 2018 or May 2020. They do not want an October date, he argued, because of its proximity to the 2019 midterm elections.

After the hearing, Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate electoral reforms committee, told reporters he wants a decision by next week.

“Maybe by Monday, if I could get the report by the House, I will release the committee report,” he said in Filipino.

Go or no go?

Election stakeholders presented their respective positions on the postponement at Thursday’s hearing, where Senate Bill Nos. 1469 and 1552 were tackled.

The Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas, the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) were in favor of postponing the elections. The Liga ng mga Barangay also supports having hold-over officials.

The PNP argued that their campaign against the prevalence of illegal drugs “might be undermined” should elections push through. President Duterte himself wants to postpone the October polls to prevent the influence of supposed “drug money.” 

The PDEA said that the drug problem in barangays still persists, with 20,872 barangays or 49.65% of all villages considered drug-affected.

However, Gordon cautioned against citing only the drug menace as the reason for the postponement.

“I don’t think you should postpone elections just because there are drugs in the country. That shows a failure of government” in addressing the issue, said Gordon after the hearing. 

For its part, the AFP mentioned their ongoing efforts to completely defeat terrorists in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur. The clashes there between terrorists and government troops triggered Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao last May. 

During elections, the Comelec has the option to deputize police and military forces to beef up security measures.

On the other hand, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, the National Youth Commission (NYC), and election watchdogs want the October 23 village elections to proceed.

“We hold the view that for democracy to continue to flourish, there must be a regular renewal of the mandate of our leaders” through an election, said Drilon.

“If the reason given [for postponement] is drugs… the election is the best way to solve it actually, if you want to remove en masse these [drug-tainted] people,” added Ramon Casiple of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform. “Let people in the barangay decide on this.”

The National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) echoed this sentiment.

Aquino and NYC commissioner James Caesar Ventura also pointed out that seats for the SK have been vacant since 2013 due to previous election postponements. There were no holdover SK officials. – Rappler.com