By Vanne Elaine P. Terrazola

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto is calling for the extension of the terms of office of barangay officials to end the “habit” of postponing the village and youth elections.

In a statement on Friday, Recto said it was high time for Congress to take up measures that would grant the said elective officials longer terms.

He noted that the upcoming suspension of the May 2020 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls would be the third postponement under the Duterte administration and the seventh since 1988.

“House and Senate debate records would show that every time a bill of postponement is passed, it is premised on the promise that it will be the last. That was the refrain in 1988, 1989, 2002, 2005, 2016, and 2017. Ang ‘never again,’ naging ‘let me try again’ (But ‘never again’-s have turned to ‘let me try again’),” Recto said.

“The result is an elastic term of office for our barangay officials, longer than what they should get,” he lamented.

“After seven postponements, it is time for durable cures, and not band-aid solutions. Instead of regurgitating the tired, old excuses, we should ask ourselves: Ano nga ba ang dahilan bakit parati na lang ito pinagpapaliban (What is the reason for its repeated suspension)?”

The Senate last Tuesday approved on second reading the Senate Bill No. 1043, which proposes to move the barangay and SK poll form May 2020 to December 5, 2022. Senators are expected to pass it on third and final reading next week.

During the debates on the bill, Recto expressed reservations on the proposed date for the barangay polls, which will be on the same year as the May 2022 national and local elections.

He warned that the next administration may cite the seven-month gap between this and the national elections as a reason for asking Congress for yet another postponement of the village elections.

He clarified that he fully supported the SB 1043, “the next order of business is to find ways to end the habitual cancellation of barangay elections.”

“The Senate should finally tackle the bull by its horns and propose a longer term for barangay officials,” Recto said in his statement.

“Admittedly, this proposal has its pros and cons, but the bottom line is that in governance, whatever the office, a shorter term for a bad official is too long, while a longer term for a good official is too short,” he said.

“The important thing is that we should now begin looking into a longer term for barangay officials, in the hope that its length would serve as a deterrent to schemes to postpone elections,” he added.

Recto said the without the “critical amendment” of prolonging the terms of office of barangay officials, “the president who will come after Duterte, and the next one, and the one after, will succumb to the national bad habit of scrapping barangay polls.”

Under the Republic Act 7610, or the Local Government Code, local elective officials, including barangay officials, have three-year terms.

“Elective officials in this land—from the president down to the barangay captain—have the same employment status: they’re casuals elected to fixed terms. Endo in 6 years for the president, and 3 years for the rest, which can only be renewed through the ballot box,” Recto stressed.