ILOILO City – Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr. supports the call to postpone the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) scheduled on Dec. 5, 2022.
Abalos said the May 9, 2022 national and local elections had just concluded and the national government can save if the BSKE will be postponed.
“I have my own personal stand here. Ang stand ko rito ay ma-postpone na muna ito dahil nga halos kakatapos lang natin ng elections,” Abalos said in a media interview on Thursday afternoon, Aug. 25, when he visited this city.
He did not mention a proposed schedule when to conduct the BSKE but he said it can be rescheduled by Congress.
Abalos also said an election is no joke because it is “very divisive” and creates misunderstanding within families, relatives, friends, and neighbors.
He added that the rest of the year will be a time for getting together, focusing and cooperating because newly-elected officials just started their term last June 30, 2022.
Meanwhile, the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) in the city and province of Iloilo were among the first to commend the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms’ proposal to postpone BSKE to December 4, 2023.
ABC president and board member Dorothy Paes was happy as the Congress had acted on the call of barangay officials to postpone the BSKE to give more time for the incumbent barangay and SK officials to perform their duties and to implement projects and programs which were delayed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Roberto Niño, barangay captain of Calumpang in Molo district and vice president of ABC-Iloilo City, said postponement of BSKE will be an advantage so that officials will have more time to better serve the public.
“Ma-continue ang panerbisyo sang aton nga mga effective and efficient nga barangay officials, pero ‘tong mga ma-consider wala naga-perform, it’s another year para i-prove ang ila nga mandato nga ginhatag sa ila,” Niño said in an interview over Aksyon Radyo Iloilo.
For postponing the BSKE, registered voters will also have more time to assess barangay and SK officials’ performances and to ensure correct decisions in the coming elections./PN
