THE National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) yesterday urged the Commission on Elections to insist on the holding of the December 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) amid moves in Congress to postpone it.
In a statement, Namfrel called on the Comelec to dictate when to hold the barangay and youth polls instead of bowing down to lawmakers.
“(We) urge the Comelec to exercise its power under paragraph (3), section 2, Article IX-C of the Constitution… The phrase ‘all questions affecting elections’ is broad enough to include setting the date of the BSKE,” said Namfrel.
“After all, the Comelec is an independent Constitutional Commission, under Article IX, section 1 of the Constitution,” it added.
The poll watchdog reminded the Commission that Article X, section 8 of the Constitution only grants to Congress the power to determine by law the term of office of barangay officials.
“Only the term of office is expressly stated as that which should be determined by law, not the decision when to hold the elections for barangay and SK officials,” stressed Namfrel.
Several bills have been filed in Congress for the postponement of the December 5 polls.
The Comelec, in turn, has said they will adhere to the decision of Congress on whether the BSKE will be postponed or not.
Aside from having the legal mandate, the poll watchdog noted that the rationale of using the BSKE funds to help finance the government’s economic recovery and COVID-19 response would be illegal.
“Neither the President nor Congress can transfer any savings from any BSKE postponement for those purposes… The Constitution is clear. No law shall be passed authorizing any transfer of appropriations,” said Namfrel.
As to the argument of stability and continuity offered by incumbent barangay and SK leaders, the group said such has no worth if not backed by a renewed mandate from the people.
“After the last four years, incumbents have shown whether they could be trusted in carrying out their programs and projects. Let the people decide now if they have earned that trust and so deserve to continue,” it said.
And on the need to recover from the divisiveness of the May 2022 national and local polls, Namfrel said every election is inherently divisive because of the nature of political campaigns.
Namfrel also said the argument that there will be a delay in the delivery of basic services as elected leaders still have to undergo training, would only be applicable for newly elected officials.
“Reelected incumbents already have the knowledge and experience to carry out the duties of their positions,” said Namfrel.
As debates continue regarding the BSKE, Elections chairman George Garcia said their preparations for the poll exercise is already at 70 percent since the Comelec has not stopped preparing for the BSKE.
“We will dedicate September to the printing of the official ballots and other election documents. By October, we will begin shipping our equipment so that they will already be prepositioned,” said the poll chief, adding: “More or less, we are already at 70 percent.”
The Comelec is set to attend today a Senate hearing on the proposed postponement of the BSKE.