Binay: ‘No barangay elections this year if I win’

Mara Cepeda

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Binay: ‘No barangay elections this year if I win’
'Kayong mga barangay officials e matulog na kayo nang mahimbing. 'Pag ako naging presidente, wala hong halalan ngayong taong ito,' the UNA standard-bearer vows in a sortie in Vigan City



ILOCOS SUR, Philippines – There will be no barangay elections this year, if Vice President Jejomar Binay is elected president.

This was Binay’s promise to barangay officials who attended his sortie in Vigan City on Tuesday night, March 15.

“Kayong mga barangay officials e matulog na kayo nang mahimbing. Pag ako naging presidente, wala hong halalan ngayong taong ito, (Barangay officials, you can sleep soundly. If I become president, there will be no barangay elections this year),” he said.

On Wednesday, March 16, the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) standard-bearer told reporters he wants the October 31 barangay elections to be moved one to two years after the May national polls.

Responding to questions, Binay said, “Oo, kasi supposed to be naka-set ito ng October. Katapos-tapos lang ng halalan, halalan na naman (Yes, because it’s set for October. By then, we would have just finished with an election, only to be followed by another immediately after)!”

“Pangalawa, alam mo pinag-gagastusan ‘yan. E ang alam ko diyan ay ‘yung barangay pa ‘yung gumagastos sa halalan, so ipagpaliban muna natin. ‘Wag natin isabay sa local o national elections,” he added.

(Secondly, you know money is spent for that. What I know is that the barangays finance their own elections, so let’s postpone it first. Let’s not hold it alongside the local or national elections.)

Binay acknowledged, however, that the law would have to be amended for his plan to push through.

Republic Act No 9164, which was amended by RA 9340, requires the holding of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls every 3 years, on the last Monday of October.

There are moves in the House of Representatives to push the barangay elections to 2018. Under the law, incumbent barangay officials will be on holdover capacity until the next poll.

While he backed the postponement of the SK elections in 2013 under RA 10632, President Benigno Aquino III rejected the recommendation of the Commission on Elections to do the same for the barangay elections that year.

At the time, Aquino cited the situation in the Arroyo administration, when barangay elections were postponed several times and allowed incumbent officials to remain in their posts past their 3-year term.

In his Vigan sortie on Tuesday night, Binay also reiterated his promise to increase the compensation for barangay officials so they can become salaried employees, which requires an amendment of the Local Government Code of 1991.

Governor: ‘Ilocos Sur open to all candidates’

ILOCOS VOTE. Ilocos Sur Governor Ryan Singson in a media interview on March 15, 2016. Photo by Mara Cepeda/Rappler   
While he joined Binay’s rally in Vigan on Tuesday, as well as the Vice President’s media interview  on Wednesday, Ilocos Sur Governor Ryan Singson said local leaders have yet to endorse a presidential candidate.

“Lahat naman po ay kaibigan kaya naman po open ang Ilocos Sur sa lahat ng mga kandidato para po namin malaman ang mga plataporma nila (We are all friends so Ilocos Sur welcomes all candidates to know their platforms),” said Singson, who is seeking reelection unopposed under the Nacionalista Party.

“Kung ano ang pinakamagandang plataporma, kung sino yung makakatulong dito sa Ilocos Sur, ‘yun po ang magiging presidente namin (Whoever has the best platform to help people here in Ilocos Sur, he or she will be our president),” he added.

Singson said votes from Region 1 or the “Solid North” is a “big factor” in every election. It is home to about 2.5 million voters.

It is also the bailiwick of the family of  Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, Binay’s first choice for running mate.

Binay and some of UNA’s senatorial candidates are wrapping up their sorties in the Ilocos region by holding motorcades around the province on Wednesday.

The UNA vice presidential candidate, Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan II, skipped his standard-bearer’s Ilocos sorties, saying he plans to campaign there on his own. – Rappler.com

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Mara Cepeda

Mara Cepeda specializes in stories about politics and local governance. She covers the Office of the Vice President, the Senate, and the Philippine opposition. She is a 2021 fellow of the Asia Journalism Fellowship and the Reham al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship of the UN. Got tips? Email her at mara.cepeda@rappler.com or tweet @maracepeda.