CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Most village officials are in favor of postponement of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections on May 14, although the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said only Congress can extend it indefinitely.
At least this was the general consensus when Comelec Commissioner Luie Tito Guia responded to queries from barangay executives during a consultation here last Tuesday.
Guia said only Congress could call off the scheduled polls in the event of violence in Mindanao during the duration of the election period, from April up to the day of the proclamation of winners.
Comelec led the consultation with village officials and other stakeholders all over Mindanao to tackle various concerns, noting that the entire island is still under martial law.
During an open forum, most of the barangay officials from Northern Mindanao and Caraga Regions were one in saying they favor a postponement of the local elections.
These local government leaders manifested their stand through at least 50 position papers submitted before the Comelec during the consultation.
Many of those who expressed their support for the postponement said the elections could hamper implementation of national government programs in their localities.
Jerico Goldmar Ebabacol, chair of Barangay 17 in this city, said he and other village officials here were at the height of implementing both the anti-illegal drugs campaign and raising awareness on federalism-two major programs of the Duterte administration.
To replace the incumbent officials with the new ones, Ebabacol said, could delay the efforts since the newly-elected leaders would have to be acquainted first with these programs before they could continue them.
Comelec regional director for Northern Mindanao Renato Magbutay underscored the importance of the consultation to the agency’s effort to determine the pulse of the people on the issue of election postponement in Mindanao.
In a statement posted on its website, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said the consultations “are precisely meant to help the Commission determine whether or not the upcoming elections should be postponed in Mindanao.”
“It is crucial for us to verify that the conditions for free and fair elections are present in spite of the persistence of Martial Law in that part of the country,” Jimenez said.
Aside from Cagayan de Oro, Comelec has also conducted a consultation in Zamboanga City on Jan. 22. It will hold another round in Cotabato City on Jan. 29. (Jigger J. Jerusalem/PNA)
