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BY MAE SINGUAY
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Monday, March 27, 2017
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BACOLOD City – Two top city officials are wary of President Rodrigo Duterte’s plan to postpone barangay elections in October this year and appoint village officials instead of having them elected.
Candidates backed by drug lords might win the election, the President said.
Duterte’s plan will be properly consulted with city and town mayors, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary Ismael Sueno confirmed.
Rep. Greg Gasataya believes the DILG should lead the selection of the people to be appointed to barangay positions. Mayors cannot be given such authority; they could use it for politicking, he said.
Gasataya also said the House of Representatives must formulate and discuss guidelines in appointing barangay officials.
Duterte plans to appoint the barangay officials himself.
In a speech at a gathering of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines in Metro Manila, he explained that the vetting process for appointees will include many sectors such as the church and civil society making recommendations, and from the list of recommendees, the appointees will be chosen.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia, on the other hand, said the administration must have researched well to come up with such idea.
“They have researched the legal position, so the proposal is plausible,” he said.
But guidelines must be made very clear so as not to make the appointments purely discretionary, said Leonardia. “That would not be good politics if it’s simple choosing, so there should certain standards.”
Meanwhile Negros Occidental governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. supports the plan to appoint barangay officials.
Unlike the election, appointing barangay officials would require less money, the governor said.
If given a chance, Marañon said he wants to appoint barangay leaders in Negros Occidental himself.
Duterte plans to declare all barangay positions across the country vacant by October.
But Sueno clarified that the Sangguniang Kabataan election this year will continue as planned./PN
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