Sponsorship Speech
Committee Report No. 4
Senate Bill No. 1306

Mr. President, esteemed colleagues of the Philippine Senate, good afternoon.

Today I submit to this chamber Committee Report No. 4 sponsoring herewith Senate Bill No. 1306 entitled, "AN ACT POSTPONING THE DECEMBER 2022 BARANGAY AND SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN ELECTIONS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9164, AS AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9340, REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10632, REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10656, REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10923, REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10952, AND REPUBLIC ACT NO. 11462, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES".

Three years ago, I sponsored the first Act passed by the Eighteenth Congress postponing the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections from the second Monday of May 2020 to December 5, 2022. I then made a promise in full plenary, on public record, that it would be the last of the repeated postponements of the barangay elections. Today, in the immortal words of the late great Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, let me confess as she did, I lied I lied!

Levity aside, there are compelling reasons why I must renege on that promise. The fact that the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections have been postponed relentlessly through the decades, merely underlies the unfinished business of deeper issues plaguing both the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan systems.

Unang una, halos taon-taon na tayong nag-eeleksyon; at kung tutuusin napakaikli ng tatlong taon para gampanan ang napakabigat na trabaho sa barangay. Responde sa tuwing may bagyo, maghahabol ng magnanakaw, mamagitan sa kapitbahay kapag tumatawid ang baboy sa bakuran, pati sa away ng asawang nagseselos, lagot si Kap. Nung tinamaan tayo ng COVID sila ang sadyang naging frontliners mula sa ospital, hanggang sa bahay-bahay, maging sa bukid at lansangan. Love ko si Kap ang sabi ni Sen. Bong Revilla, sabay nila Sen. Lapid, Cayetano, A., Ejercito, Escudero, Estrada, Tolentino na nanilbihan katulad ko sa lokal.

A quick review reveals that every barangay election since 1989 has been postponed resulting in an actual extension of term averaging 4 to 5 years. Hence, I propose that the term of the Barangay and SK officials should be extended to 6 years, permanently fixing their elections every May the year following the presidential elections. In fact, I have filed Senate Bill No. 1195, last August 16, 2022, positing such an extension, and fixing the dates for both the barangay and SK elections.

Mandin, di ko tanggap bilang dakilang Ilokano, ang gastos na nilalaan sa kada eleksyon, manwal lang daw at hindi automated, pumapatak pa din ng bilyon bilyon. Sa hirap ng panahon ngayon, hindi ba dapat tayo puspusan magtipid? Magagalit sa atin si Sen. Angara nyan!

There is likewise a need to revise and streamline the present Sangguniang Kabataan System. In particular, the feasibility of abolishing the Pederasyon ng Sangguniang Kabataan at the barangay level must be seriously considered. Ironically, the good intention of our first anti-dynastic legal provision in the SK charter disqualifying relatives of up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity to any incumbent official thus rendering ineligible a large class of voters, particularly in small barangays of 200, 300, 400 voters where almost everyone is related. In my view, instead of an SK Federation at every level of local government, a single SK representative in every barangay and municipal council should be considered. Perhaps, a federation is warranted only at a city or provincial level, with the additional proviso of reorganizing the SK Federation every midterm, in order to guarantee that the SK leadership remains within the locality, but avoiding the need for yet another election. Bilang orig na Kabataang Barangay, lola na ng mga SK, pakiwari kong gaganda ang takbo ng SK kapag naisayos ang kanilang termino kasabay ng barangay.

Thus, this proposed election postponement is a means to buy us time for a series of measures that the Committee on Electoral Reforms and People's Participation is proposing to Congress. This is merely a preliminary measure to give us time to study and debate the deeper issues confronting the barangay and SK system under our present law.

A word of caution too regarding the budget COMELEC has requested for the postponement. Out of the 8.441 Billion Pesos allotted for the December 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, there should be a balance by months end, of around Php 7.583B. COMELEC claims however that they have obligated or disbursed far more. Further, they have also requested that, should the elections be postponed to December 2023, the amount of Php 18.441 Billion should be provided in the 2023 budget, over 218% more than their budget this year.

Sa tingin ko, kung kailangan magdagdag ng additional 15% na additional precincts, 15% na karagdagang botante, 15% na teachers at BEI, at 15% na supplies, dapat 15% lang ang idadagdag sa dating budget na Php 8.4B.

Kung nagtapat ang dakilang senador Miriam Defensor Santiago na siyang nagsinungaling, may sinabi rin siya na "Kahit sinong tanga pwedeng tumakbo sa posisyon, at posibleng umani ng boto sa kapwa niyang tanga." Wala naman ditong tanga kundi mga matitinik at masisipag na senador, nakatoon sa trabahong hinaharap. September ber months na po, ramdam na ang pasko. Paspasan na natin ang pagpapaubaya ng halalang barangay at SK ngayon.

Maraming Salamat Ginoong Pangulo at mga minamahal kong kasamahan sa Senado.