Senate to take cue from Marcos on deferment of barangay, SK polls —Zubiri

The Senate will wait for President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) before deciding whether to pass a bill deferring the 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls or not, presumptive Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said Tuesday.

"Let's await the SONA speech of the president for guidance on the issue. I believe may comment siya on the [barangay] elections in his speech. That will help guide [as] to what action to take on the matter. One week na lang," Zubiri said in a text message to reporters.

The lawmaker issued the statement after Commission on Elections (Comelec) acting spokesperson Rex Laudiangco asked Congress to decide immediately on the matter as the poll body is already preparing for the barangay and SK polls which is set on December 5.

Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero, who filed a bill seeking the deferment of the 2022 barangay and SK elections, said he will ask the Senate leadership to take up the measure so the body could vote on it and "not become simply moot."

In a forum held Monday, Laudiangco expressed hope that Congress will immediately decide on the matter so they can halt all preparations related to it.

"We're just hoping and praying that if indeed any republic act will come out, it should come soon. The soonest possible time so that we could postpone any other procurements that we have not concluded," Laudiangco said.

He explained that the Comelec will "continue to comply" with Republic Act 11462 or the law that postponed the supposed May 2020 Barangay and SK polls unless a new law will be passed to defer it anew.

Although he made the call, Laudiangco said their preparations, such as the voter registration, promulgation of resolutions regarding the Barangay and SK polls, and the procurement of all goods and services, will not go to waste.

According to Comelec data, there are 1,073,847 newly registered voters as of July 18.

The voter registration will run until July 23.

Some lawmakers, including House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, who is poised to be the next speaker, back the postponement of the local polls.

Romualdez said the government could save P8.141 billion if the BSKE will be deferred.

Former Comelec Commissioner George Garcia, whose appointment was bypassed by the Commission on Appointments, earlier echoed Romualdez's statement, saying that postponing the December 2022 barangay and SK elections would save the government a lot of money.

Should the elections be deferred, this will mark the fourth time that Congress postponed the barangay and SK elections since October 2016.

The October 2016 barangay and SK polls were postponed to October 2017. From then, it was postponed to May 2018. It was again reset to May 2022.

Last week, the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) and National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) aired their opposition against proposals to postpone the 2022 Barangay and SK elections, saying it is high time for the electorate to assess their local leaders.—LDF, GMA News