Comelec: Negros Oriental barangay, SK polls' fate to be known by end-Sept or Oct.

The Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) decision whether the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) in Negros Oriental will or will not be postponed may be disclosed by the end of September or start of October, poll chairman George Garcia said Sunday.

Garcia said that the public consultation on whether there is a need to postpone the upcoming BSKE due to the "political violence" in the province will start on Tuesday, and will last for three to four days.

“Ang ating intensyon talaga ay bilang pagtalima sa ating commitment doon sa pagdinig sa Senado at sinabi natin hindi naman kara-karaka na tayo ay magde-deklara kaagad ng postponement ng isang eleksyon sa isang lugar. Kinakailangang pakinggan muna natin ‘yung mga kababayan natin doon sa area kung saan maaring maapektuhan ng isang postponement ng eleksyon,” he said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(Our intention is actually to comply with our commitment to the hearing in the Senate wherein we said we will not immediately declare a postponement of an election in an area. We must first listen to our constituents in the area who may be affected by a postponement of the election.)

During a Senate inquiry into the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, Senators Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa and Francis Tolentino asked the poll body to look into the possibility of holding off the elections amid the political violence in the province.

Comelec then announced earlier this month that public hearings will be conducted in Negros Oriental to assess its current situation, particularly its peace and order status, in order to determine whether or not the BSKE should be postponed in the province.

Garcia said they have not yet received a petition to postpone the BSKE which is set on October 30, but pointed out that the poll body has a motu proprio function to do so.

Petition

However, later on Sunday, Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo and eight other mayors from Negros Oriental appealed to the Comelec to postpone the 2023 BSKE in the province, citing peace and order concerns.

In a statement released on Sunday, the nine mayors said they want the conduct of the BSKE to be moved a month in order for them to address the violence in the province.

“The recent tragic events in Negros Oriental, including the killing of former Governor Degamo and the massacre of nine individuals, have raised significant concerns regarding peace and security. Many other killings and harassments have occurred in the past, with most of the perpetrators still at large. The alleged mastermind's political machinery remains intact, creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in our communities,” the mayors said.

They also argued that the postponement would provide an opportunity to mobilize the full power of the national government, including the Comelec, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to focus on strengthening security measures in the province.

Aside from Degamo, whose husband, Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, was shot dead in their home in Pamplona on March 4, the other signatories are: Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo, Guihulngan City Mayor Filomeno Reyes, Siaton Mayor Cezanne Fritz Diaz, Dauin Mayor Galicano Truita, San Jose Mayor Mel Nick Logronio, Bindoy Mayor Eniego Jabagat, Ayungon Mayor Dennis Amancio, and Tayasan Mayor Susano Antonio Ruperto.

Postponement

Should the elections be moved to a later date, Garcia said the BSKE still needs to be conducted not 30 days later.

“Kung ang Comelec ay magde-desisyon na i-postpone ang isang halalan sa isang parte ng ating bansa, ito ay hindi puwedeng tumagal ng 30 araw mula sa pagtapos ng violence o ibang grounds pa na sinasabi… Kung sakaling ang eleksyon natin ay October 30, malamang dapat bago matapos ang November 30, dapat ay nasagawa na rin ang eleksyon doon sa na-postpone sa lugar,” Garcia added.

(If the Comelec decides to postpone an election in a part of our country, it cannot last 30 days from the end of the violence or other grounds... If the election is on October 30, it should have been conducted before the end of November 30 in that place where the postponement happened.) —KG, GMA Integrated News