By
Filane Mikee Cervantes
MANILA,
March 24 (PNA) -- House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Friday backed the plan of
President Rodrigo Duterte to cancel barangay (village) elections in October and
instead appoint barangay officials in a bid to stamp out narcopolitics in the
country.
In
a radio interview, Alvarez said Duterte’s plan to appoint leaders of over
42,000 barangays is possible through a legislation amending the Local
Government Code without violating the Constitution.
“Well,
wala akong problema diyan at suportado ko ang ating Pangulo diyan dahil
napaka-valid po noong reason, dahil tama yun, majority of the barangay
officials are involved in illegal drugs, nagagamit ito,” Alvarez said in a
radio interview.
(“Well,
I don’t have any problem with that and I support our President on that matter
because the reason is valid. In fact, majority of the barangay officials are
involved in illegal drugs”)
“Kinakailangan
po ng legislation diyan para magbigay ng kapangyarihan sa Comelec na huwag
ituloy yung election (A legislation is need to grant Comelec the power to defer
the elections,” he added.
Alvarez
said the necessary amendment can be proposed and tackled when Congress resumes
session on May 2.
President
Duterte had admitted that his plan to appoint barangay officials to fill the vacant
posts would be “quite messy” because incumbent barangay officials would likely
oppose the move.
According
to the President, the first requirement for a barangay officer-in-charge
nominee is that they should not have any connections at all with rebels.
Second, is that they are not into drugs, and lastly, they are not really
leaders of politicians.
The
President said he would accept nominations from the Catholic Church, from Islam
leaders, religious denominations and other organizations.
However,
opposition lawmakers at the House of Representatives warned against this move
of postponing anew the barangay polls and having its officials appointed
instead.
Albay
Rep. Edcel Lagman said that existing laws do not provide for appointment of
officers-in-charge (OICs) for elective barangay positions, stressing that the
choice of elective officials belongs to the electorate.
"It
has been consistently provided under the various barangay election laws,
including the law which postponed the barangay elections to October 2017, that
all barangay officials shall serve until their successors are duly elected and
qualified, unless meanwhile they have been dismissed for cause," Lagman
said.
"Any
further postponement of the village polls must not allow the appointment of
OICs either by the President, or the Secretary of DILG," he added.
For
his part, Magdalo Partylist Rep. Gary Alejano said that administrative charges
should be filed against barangay captains with alleged links to the illegal
drug trade.
"In
that way, those suspected barangay captains will have the opportunity to defend
themselves and at the same time those who are considered clean will not be
dragged unnecessarily and their names destroyed before the public,"
Alejano said. (PNA)
