SENATE OKS BARANGAY POLL RE-SCHED TO 2006

 

The Senate today passed on third reading the bill re-setting the barangay elections scheduled for the last Monday of October 2005 to the last Monday of October 2006 and provided for hold-over for ex-officio positions in the sanggunians.

 

Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Revision of Codes and Laws Chairman Richard Gordon said that although the 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, the adjustment to October 2006 was made 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.

 

The House of Representatives has earlier approved House Bill 3742 which sets the date of the election to the second Monday of May 2008 and provides for the conduct of elections for ex-officio positions in the sanggunians.

 

A conference committee of both the Senate and the House of Representatives will be convened to reconcile conflicting provisions of the Senate and House versions to produce a reconciled bill.

 

Gordon has earlier proposed for the re-setting of the said elections in 2007 to minimize expenditures and give the government time to review, study and implement the rationalization of the barangays as it was disclosed during the past deliberations that there exists barangays with no (zero) number of residents who receive 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 bicam conference, it will be the product of thoughtful deliberation aimed at serving the best interests of our people,” said Gordon.

 

Since the enactment of the Local Government Code, barangay elections have been held in 1994, 1997, and 2002.  The next elections was previously scheduled in October of this year, however, Congress has to postpone it due to unavailability of the 2.89 billion pesos required funding for it

 

 

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