House bill on postponement of Barangay, SK polls advances

The House of Representatives measure that seeks a one-year deferment to the October 31 Barangay and the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections is one step closer to enactment after lawmakers approved on second reading House Bill (HB) No.3384 on Tuesday night.

Mainly authored by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, HB No.3384 is also known as “An Act postponing the October 2016 Barangay and Sagguniang Kabataan Election amending for the purpose Republic Act No.9164, as amended by Republic Act No.9340 and Republic Act No.10656, and for other purposes”.

Its passage on second reading occurred just hours after the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms approved it. The House panel is chaired by CIBAC party-list Rep. Sherwin Tugna, a deputy majority leader.

A law or joint resolution is needed for the official deferment of the village and youth elections.

Up until two weeks ago, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Andres Bautista said that they were of the mindset that the October 31 polls would push through, as there was as yet no law that said otherwise.

“When we noticed that there was a huge consensus in Congress (about the deferment of the polls) and a statement from President, we halted printing of ballots to preserve public funds,” Bautista told the panel.

Bautista, however, said that they would need additional funds for the re-registration of voters next year.