Senate approves resetting of Barangay and SK elections
By MARIO B. CASAYURAN, MB Reporter
The 23-member Senate yesterday voted 19-1 to pass on third and final reading a bill resetting the scheduled Oct. 3 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections to the last Monday of October 2006 and providing for the holdover extension of exofficio positions in the SKs.
Senate President Franklin M. Drilon banged the gavel at 4:30 p.m. to signal the approval of the Malacañang-certified measure introduced by Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Revision of Codes and Laws.
Sen. Joker Arroyo cast the lone negative vote. Senate President Pro Tempore Juan Flavier and Senators Edgardo J. Angara and Ralph Recto were out of the country on official trips.
The measure was passed on second reading last Tuesday night.
Gordon said that although his committee report originally provided for May 2007 as the date of the elections, in accordance with the policy of synchronization with the national and local polls, he agreed to the adjustment of the two elections to October 2006.
This came about "after extensive debate and was propelled by the need to move the legislation out of the Senate and into the bicameral conference committee in view of the urgency of the measure," Gordon said.
The measure approved was a product of a compromise hammered out Tuesday night by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. and Gordon to reset the elections from the first Monday of October this year to the last Monday of October 2006.
The House of Representatives earlier approved House Bill No. 3742 which sets the date of election to the second Monday of May 2008.
The House approved the deferment of the two elections after Malacañang claimed government didn’t have the P2.89 billion needed for the purpose.
Pimentel said he doubted the claim because P6.4 billion was allocated for Charter change as part of the Arroyo administration’s Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) while no money was made available for the Barangay and SK elections which are mandated by law.
"This only means if an election suits their political agenda, they have no problem producing the necessary funds. But if an election does not dovetail with their interests, they can always claim there is no money for it," he said.
"What we in the Senate approved was a middleground between the administration’s proposal to postpone the Barangay and SK elections by three years which is too long and my original position to proceed with the elections as scheduled this year," Pimentel said.
Gordon said the bicameral conference committees of the two legislative chambers would try to reconcile conflicting provisions of the Senate and House measures postponing the elections.
He earlier proposed a re-setting of the scheduled elections in 2007 to minimize expenditures and give the government time to review, study and implement the rationalization of the barangays after past deliberations revealed that there exists barangays with no or zero number of residents who received internal revenue allotments (IRA) and budget from the national government.
"While I remain hopeful that synchronized national, local and barangay elections will push through, I am confident that no matter what the outcome of the bicameral conference, it will be the product of thoughtful deliberation aimed at serving the best interests of our people," Gordon said.
Since the enactment of the Local Government Code authored by Pimentel, barangay elections have been held in 1994, 1997 and 2002.
For this year, barangays are entitled to a total of P30.3 billion worth of IRA funds. Of this amount, 10 percent or P3.03 billion is the share of the SK.
The 23-member Senate yesterday voted 19-1 to pass on third and final reading a bill resetting the scheduled Oct. 3 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections to the last Monday of October 2006 and providing for the holdover extension of exofficio positions in the SKs.
Senate President Franklin M. Drilon banged the gavel at 4:30 p.m. to signal the approval of the Malacañang-certified measure introduced by Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Revision of Codes and Laws.
Sen. Joker Arroyo cast the lone negative vote. Senate President Pro Tempore Juan Flavier and Senators Edgardo J. Angara and Ralph Recto were out of the country on official trips.
The measure was passed on second reading last Tuesday night.
Gordon said that although his committee report originally provided for May 2007 as the date of the elections, in accordance with the policy of synchronization with the national and local polls, he agreed to the adjustment of the two elections to October 2006.
This came about "after extensive debate and was propelled by the need to move the legislation out of the Senate and into the bicameral conference committee in view of the urgency of the measure," Gordon said.
The measure approved was a product of a compromise hammered out Tuesday night by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. and Gordon to reset the elections from the first Monday of October this year to the last Monday of October 2006.
The House of Representatives earlier approved House Bill No. 3742 which sets the date of election to the second Monday of May 2008.
The House approved the deferment of the two elections after Malacañang claimed government didn’t have the P2.89 billion needed for the purpose.
Pimentel said he doubted the claim because P6.4 billion was allocated for Charter change as part of the Arroyo administration’s Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) while no money was made available for the Barangay and SK elections which are mandated by law.
"This only means if an election suits their political agenda, they have no problem producing the necessary funds. But if an election does not dovetail with their interests, they can always claim there is no money for it," he said.
"What we in the Senate approved was a middleground between the administration’s proposal to postpone the Barangay and SK elections by three years which is too long and my original position to proceed with the elections as scheduled this year," Pimentel said.
Gordon said the bicameral conference committees of the two legislative chambers would try to reconcile conflicting provisions of the Senate and House measures postponing the elections.
He earlier proposed a re-setting of the scheduled elections in 2007 to minimize expenditures and give the government time to review, study and implement the rationalization of the barangays after past deliberations revealed that there exists barangays with no or zero number of residents who received internal revenue allotments (IRA) and budget from the national government.
"While I remain hopeful that synchronized national, local and barangay elections will push through, I am confident that no matter what the outcome of the bicameral conference, it will be the product of thoughtful deliberation aimed at serving the best interests of our people," Gordon said.
Since the enactment of the Local Government Code authored by Pimentel, barangay elections have been held in 1994, 1997 and 2002.
For this year, barangays are entitled to a total of P30.3 billion worth of IRA funds. Of this amount, 10 percent or P3.03 billion is the share of the SK.
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