Brgy, SK polls deferment to leave ABC post in PB vacant

The proposal to defer the upcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections has concerned Cebu Vice Governor Agnes Magpale because it will leave the Association of Barangay Councils unrepresented before the Provincial Board.

Magpale said the ABC is no longer represented in the PB after ex-officio member Celestino "Tining" Martinez III was dismissed from the service because of fertilizer fund scam.

According to the vice governor, Martinez' position will be left vacant until a new set of barangay officials shall have been elected. She explained that the ABC rule limits the succession up to the vice president. However, ABC vice president Emerito Calderon could not succeed Martinez because he was recently elected mayor of Samboan.

Magpale, however, assured that the board can manage the concerns of the barangays even without the ABC president. She said she already hired a consultant on barangay affairs.

Despite her concern, Magpale said she is in favor of postponing the barangay and SK elections until next year. She believes that there will be no elections on October 31 after President Rodrigo Duterte's pronouncement favoring its deferment.

Several measures have been filed before the Senate seeking to postpone the barangay and SK elections.