Barangay and SK Elections

 BEHIND THE SCENES 

Alfred P. Dizon

BAGUIO CITY –Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections were finally held after three postponements since 2018. Over the years, barangays have been a formidable factor particularly during elections.
    The polls, despite cases of violence, were a welcome breath of fresh air considering BSK officials have been occupying their positions for five years now. People have been clamoring for elections, particularly those unfortunate enough to have had bad eggs in their barangays. 
    Finally on Oct. 30, millions of voters trooped to their voting precincts to cast votes for their candidates.
    But there seemed to be an irregularity here since, according to political pundits, the Local Government Code stipulated their term of office was supposed to be only three years.
    There was an attempt by some legislators for the BSKE to be held in 2024. This irked then Senate President Tito Sotto, who said barangay captains would have a longer term than the president of the Philippines.
    Critics say national leaders today may have forgotten that in March 1982, Batas Pambansa Blg. 222 was enacted, setting the term of office of barangay officials to six years, which commenced on June 7, 1982.
    The original schedule for the BSKE was Dec. 5, 2022. However, Congress passed a law that postponed it to the last Monday of October 2023. Political pundits said this was so politicians could hold on to their supporters or officials in the barangay level – they who could boost their chances of winning during elections.
    Anyhow, observers say, the law (Republic Act 11935) was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. “The exercise of the right to vote as guaranteed and protected by the Constitution requires the holding of genuine periodic elections, which must be held at intervals and not unduly long,” the SC ruled.
    The SC recognized “legal practicality and necessity of proceeding with the conduct of the BSKE on the last Monday of October 2023 pursuant to the operative fact doctrine.”
    So after five years, three postponements and legal wrangling, voters elected their barangay representatives/officials last Oct. 20.
    Election of barangay leaders is supposed to be an embodiment of democracy and community spirit. This, considering the barangay is the smallest political and administrative unit in the country. There are 42,027 barangays in the Philippines as of 2023.
    Barangay is the native Filipino term for village. They were also called barrios. It was in 1974 when the late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. decreed barrios be called barangays.
    Historians say “barangay” traces its roots to “balangay,” a wooden boat used by our ancestors to reach the archipelago.
    Linguists meanwhile say, “barrio” traces its roots to Spain. Barrio, in Spanish, means “neighborhood.”
    The Local Government Code of 1991 placed the Punong Barangay as the chief executive of the smallest political unit.     Thus, it is more precise to use “punong barangay” than “barangay captain” when addressing the elected head of the barangay.
    The Dept. of Interior and Local Government meanwhile says the punong barangay is imbued with powers of the executive, legislative, and judiciary, all rolled into one. The PB enforces all laws and ordinances applicable within the barangay and presides sessions of Sangguniang Barangay and Barangay Assembly.
    The PB also administers operation of the Katarungang Pambarangay, the community-based dispute settlement mechanism at the barangay level.
    A punong barangay today, unlike in the past, must possess managerial and administrative skills in running and crafting barangay development plans, according to the Dept. of Interior and Local Government which holds seminars for barangay officials on governance.    
    The powers and functions of the barangay, down to its officials, have evolved much. Barangay officials now hold political power.
    The Local Government Code, with its “devolution,” conferred powers and authority to barangay officials to perform specific functions and responsibilities unlike in the past. So now, many Filipinos aspire to become barangay officials whether through foul or fair means.
    According to the Commission on Elections, there were 672,000 seats up for grabs in the Oct. 30 elections. There were 1.41 million people who filed their candidacies, including 828,644 candidates for the barangay council (kagawad) and 585,843 candidates for the youth council.
    But in cases like what happened in Abra, there were mass withdrawals, (more than 250) of candidacies due to harassment of coercion by rival candidates or politicians.
    The SK is supposed to be the embodiment of the youth’s participation in nation building. The youth are empowered through electoral exercise to choose their leaders and whom to represent them in the barangay and municipal/city councils.
    Criticisms have been rife however, that the SK has become a breeding place here the youth learn the basics of politics and corruption. Records bared many barangay officials came from the ranks of the SK.
    Observers say however that one positive aspect of the SK election today is application of the anti-dynasty law at levels of the local government unit.
    Republic Act 10742, also known as the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act of 2015, stipulates  SK candidates “must not be related within the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity to any incumbent elected national official or to any incumbent elected regional, provincial, city, municipal, or barangay official, in the locality where he or she seeks to be elected.”
    Thus SK candidates (between the ages of 18 and 24) are disqualified if any of his or her parents, siblings, and grandparents, as well as their spouse, parents, and siblings, is an incumbent elected government official.
    A few years back before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2018. there were many barangays where SK candidates fell short of desired members of the SK council due to this.
    There were also many barangays without candidates for SK chairperson.
    The anti-dynasty component somehow opened opportunities for many youths outside political families to run in elections without backing of traditional political machinery.
    The anti-dynasty law at the SK level, somehow, was a welcome electoral reform for citizens who were sick and tired of political dynasties. If this is not being done outside of the SK, the answer is obvious.