POLL BODY POISED FOR MAY BARANGAY ELECTIONS

The Commission on Election (Comelec) is preparing “full blast” for the May 14, 2018 barangay election as set by the House of Representatives and the Senate and signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte. Cebu Election Supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano said they have a memorandum of Aareement (MOA) with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for the information campaign on the barangay election. It will also be an election of officials of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK), aged 18 to 24. “We were told by Senator Richard Gordon (chairman of the Senate committee on suffrage) that there will be no more postponement of the election,” Castillano said. The barangay election was originally set in October 2016. However, this was moved to October 2017. Then it was again moved to May 14, 2018. On the other hand, the SK election was scheduled in October 2013, but was postponed many times until this was finally set to May 14, 2018 to coincide with the barangay election. The other day, Rep. Benhur Salimbangon (Cebu Province, 4th District) divulged that there are several House bills to postpone the barangay election again to the first quarter of 2019. Salibangon said these are now being consolidated by the House committee on suffrage chaired by Rep. Roger Mercado (Southern Leyte). The House leadership wants that the barangay election will coincide with the ratification of the new Constitution for the shift to a federal form of government. But Salimbangon said that even if the Lower House will pass the bills postponing the barangay election in the shortest possible time, it will still be referred to the Senate for final approval. In an earlier statement, Senators Bam Aquino, Risa Hontiveros and Nancy Binay, who visited Cebu separately, said they will block any move to postpone the barangay election. Castillano said that Cebu, including the highly-urbanized cities, has 2.8 million voters. “The voters are clustered at 400 per precinct,” Castillano said. /