FRONTLINE officials in the barangays and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) nationwide are considered lucky as compared to similar officials in the past.
During their two-year term, they will not only have increased funds to spend for their projects courtesy of the Supreme Court’s Mandanas ruling but will also enjoy full support from the newest member of the Marcos cabinet, Finance Secretary-designate Ralph Recto.
It may be recalled that months before the barangay elections last Oct. 30, 2023, Recto, then the representative of the sixth district of Batangas and House deputy speaker, urged Filipinos not to look down on the barangays because they are the government’s face at the local level.
‘With enough money for their projects and a shortened term of office, barangay officials who were elected last October are expected in return to spend their budgetary allocations wisely and promptly.’
“Huwag po nating ismolin ang barangay kasi frontline government agency na mahalaga ang katungkulan na ginagampanan (Let’s not belittle the barangay since it’s a frontline government agency that has an important role),” Recto said.
He also stressed then that “there are 175 billion reasons why the electorate should choose their village leaders well.”
The quotation above was a subtle reference to the close to P174.27 billion Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), or what is now called the National Tax Allotment (NTA), for the country’s 41,953 barangays – 10 percent of which or P17 billion goes to the SK – in 2024. This is a huge amount of public funds to be handled by our barangay and SK officials, aside from the funds regularly allocated by their respective cities and municipalities for their projects.
These officials will only serve a two-year term rather than the usual three-year term after the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional RA 11935, the law that postponed the elections to October 30.
By reason of legal practicality, the SC allowed the October 30 elections to proceed. However, it made it clear that the next barangay and SK elections will be held on the first Monday of December 2025 and every three years thereafter, reckoned from RA 11462, the law that precedes RA 11935.
Comparing the windfall that the barangays across the nation are entitled to by law, Secretary Recto noted that the barangays’ P174.27-billion Internal Revenue Allotment in 2024 is bigger than the P105.6-billion budget of 114 state universities and colleges. It is six times bigger than the P28 billion allocation for the Department of Health’s (DOH) budget for medicine and vaccines. It is also higher than the budget for DOH-run hospitals, and the Department of Agriculture proper which was allocated P108.5 billion.
With enough money for their projects and a shortened term of office, barangay officials who were elected last October are expected in return to spend their budgetary allocations wisely and promptly. They should not shirk the responsibility of public service that is inherent in any public office, knowing fully well that they draw their salaries from the taxes paid by the people. After all, their constituents who voted them into office also gave their complete trust and confidence in them.