‘Duterte has no power to suspend brgy polls’
ILOILO City – Postponing the barangay election set this October needed a law, according to Undersecretary Jesus Hinlo Jr. of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
“What is required is an enabling law. The President does not have the power to just suspend the elections unless both the House of Representatives and Senate approve it,” said Hinlo.
President Rodrigo Duterte wanted the barangay election postponed indefinitely. He planned to declare all barangay council posts vacant and replace them with his appointees. He was wary of candidates backed by drug lords winning the polls, he explained.
as toa Speaking at the sidelines of the graduation ceremony of Northern Iloilo Polytechnic College – Ajuy, Iloilo campus on March 28, Hinlo said DILG cannot also postpone the election on its own without a law enacted by Congress.
But he stressed there was nothing wrong with postponing the barangay election. Even past administrations postponed village polls and barangay officials continued serving in a “holdover capacity.”
What the President Duterte wanted this time was the opportunity to appoint barangay officials, said Hinlo.
“It won’t be undemocratic if backed by law. As to its constitutionality, let the court address that,” he added.