By Mortz C. Ortigoza
DAGUPAN CITY – The appointment of new
sets of barangay chairmen and council members by President Rodrigo Duterte will
be lawful because they will be backed up by a law crafted by Congress,
according to a solon.
This was the reaction of Congressman
Leopoldo Bataoil when asked if the appointment by the president of the village
violates the right of suffrage of the Filipinos.
He explained that he and fellow members
of the House of Representatives comes May 2 this year will resume session and
will discuss how to amend the law that will empower the president to postpone
the election of village chiefs and council members.
“Yes, in case we argue (for the amendment) it will go to the
process (of legislation),” he said.
In October last year, President Duterte
signed a law that moved the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections that
should be set on October 31, 2016 to October 23, 2017. Under the law, incumbent
barangay and SK officials will continue to serve for a year unless they are
removed or suspended from office.
Department of Interior & Local
Government Secretary Ismael Sueno said recently that President Duterte did
not only want the barangay elections postpone in October 23 this year he also
wants to end the term of all barangay officials and replace them by his
appointees.
The reason of the president to postpone
the polls and handpick public officials in the villages was to avoid narcotics
monies to influence the election of candidates who vie for the mentioned post.
“The reason the President wants the
barangay elections postponed is that he does not want those financed by drug
lords to win,” said Sueno.
When asked that the plan of President
Duterte to appoint new village officials instead of holding an election was
unconstitutional according to Magdalo Representative Gary Alejano,
Bataoil, a PMA graduate like the former, said that it could be above board
because Congress would craft a law for Duterte to appoint those officials.
“If it is not provided for by amendment that have been passed by Congress
and Senate then it’s not sanctioned, it’s not authorized. That’s why if a
president will appoint OICs or care takers barangay captain, barangay officials
to a certain barangay, for all barangays. Let us see how that happens with that
matter,” Bataoil stressed.
VIDEO OF THIS INTERVIEW TO HEAR THE MORE LENGHTY DISCUSSION:
VIDEO OF THIS INTERVIEW TO HEAR THE MORE LENGHTY DISCUSSION:
(You can read my selected columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too at totomortz@yahoo.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment