ILOILO City – The Liga ng mga Barangay-Iloilo City will leave it to Congress to postpone or not the barangay and Sangguninang Kabataan (SK) Elections slated this Dec. 5.
According to Liga-Iloilo City spokesperson Roberto Niño, they believe in the wisdom of senators and congressmen.
There were calls to reschedule the elections to May 2024 or December 2025.
The national government has allocated some P8 billion budget for this election.
Late last year, House Bill 10425 seeking to postpone the Dec. 5, 2022, polls to May 6, 2024 was filed by Davao Oriental’s Rep. Joel Almario.
If the postponement pushes through, this is the second time.
In 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 11462 or the postponement of the May 2020 barangay and SK elections to December 2022.
Niño, punong barangay of Calumpang, Molo district, admitted he would prefer the elections to push through to give chance to others to serve the barangay.
He noted that he has been in public service for 21 years already, to include his six years as SK (1996-2002) officer, three years as barangay kagawad (2007-2010) and punong barangay from 2010 to present.
“Ginapatapos ko na lang akon term sa pagka-kapitan,” said Niño, adding that he may pursue another career after his term ends.
The proposed postponement of the barangay election to 2024 was discussed during the the regional convention of the Liga ng mga Barangay in Western Visayas.
Liga ng mga Barangay-Iloilo City president Irene Ong said one of the reasons for the proposed postponement is the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic which may still linger until 2023./PN
