A measure seeking to postpone the Dec. 5, 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections to May 6, 2024 has been filed at the House of Representatives.
In filing House Bill 10425, Davao Oriental Representative Joel Almario said the resulting extended term of the current barangay and SK officials will provide the fresh set of national and local officials, elected only on May 9, 2022, a “mechanism of continuity” in the ongoing fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
“The country cannot have all new leaders in 2022 as doing so will add more pressure to the efficient delivery of governmental services.”
“The country cannot have all new leaders in 2022, from the President of the Republic down to the last Sangguniang Kabataan official, as doing so will add more pressure to the efficient delivery of governmental services,” Almario stressed.
“Barangay officials are effectively the frontliners in the delivery of basic government services.”
The legislator said barangay officials are effectively the frontliners in the delivery of basic government services, further describing them as “foot soldiers” of the Executive and the first line of defense of local governance.
The lawmaker said they are primarily responsible for disseminating relevant and vital information from the national government.
“This bill, if enacted into law, will usher in ‘the energy of the new’ (the newly elected national and local officials) and the wisdom of the old (the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials),” he said in his explanatory note.
In 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 11462, or the postponement of the May 2020 barangay and SK elections to December 2022.
Under the law, village elections after the December 2022 vote will subsequently take place on the first Monday of December 2025 and every three years thereafter.
