BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – “Eighty percent” of senators support the postponement of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, according to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Here yesterday morning for the groundbreaking of the Bacolod City General Hospital, Zubiri said the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms led by Sen. Imee Marcos will be taking the matter up next week.
Majority of the senators want to move the barangay and SK polls from December of 2022 to December 2023, said Zubiri.
Three bills have been filed in the Senate seeking the postponement.
Several members of the House of Representatives, including Negros Occidental 4th District’s Cong. Juliet Marie Ferrer, filed similar bills last month. Ferrer’s specifically called for the polls to be moved to December 2023.
The country had just concluded May’s synchronized national and local elections, Ferrer pointed out.
She proposed that instead of spending on another electoral exercise, the government can direct its resources to coronavirus pandemic-related programs and help rebuild the economy.
Also with the postponement, according to Ferrer, there will be continuity in the implementation of programs.
Now is “not the time” to make changes that will require adjustments and familiarization for new officials, added Ferrer./PN
