THE ROLE of barangays is nation-building should never be overlooked. After all, barangays are the basic units of governance in Philippine society. Barangay officials are the most attuned to the goings-on in the grassroots and they should not be looked down as mere political puppets.
It is time – long overdue, in fact – to usher in the next major phase on infusing good governance at the barangay level by further empowering barangay leaders to exercise responsible and accountable leadership. The recent filing of House Bill (HB) 2607 (Magna Carta for Barangays) is therefore most welcome. Among others, it wants the barangays to receive their fair share of revenues directly from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). It also proposes that barangay officials receive salaries and benefits like those regular civil servants receive.
This is a game-changing bill. The barangays are the public face of the government out there in the front lines. The bill gives proper importance to the role of barangays in nation-building. Barangays must have the appropriate powers, resources, and reasonable autonomy to solve their own problems, without having to wait for instructions from city hall or the provincial capitol, many kilometers and hours away. Barangay officials are elected as leaders. We must let them be leaders, not mere followers.
The downloading of funds from DBM directly to the barangays would improve the quality and speed of delivery of basic services communities need. In the current system, before the barangays receive funds, the barangay captain must first kowtow to the mayor, the governor and the sanggunian. That is traditional politics. A governance of subservience.
But HB 2607 is just one way to make good governance really happen nationwide. This is not a cure-all. DBM and the Commission on Audit could design, install and operate a computerized financial management and auditing system to make sure the funds are spent right, on time, and fully accounted for. The Civil Service Commission would also have to find ways to make the barangay civil service professional and ethical. CSC would also need to treat barangay officials as elected officials and regular employees. The officials are elected political leaders but the positions they will occupy are entitled to regular employee salaries and benefits.
The bottom line here is this: barangays are the public face of the government out there in the front lines. They must have the appropriate powers, resources and reasonable autonomy to govern efficiently and effectively.
