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| Barangay & SK polls. Photo courtesy of Ben Nabong |
Velasco, set to take over the post of House speaker from
Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano in the next 13 months, said it is imperative to
postpone the upcoming May 2020 Barangay and SK Elections anew, which would extend
their term to a more plausible term of four years.
“This bill would rectify the shortened term of barangay and
SK officials,” Velasco said.
Velasco, in House Bill No. 1071, said extending the terms of
barangay and SK officials will be more coherent with the provisions of law and will
ultimately redound to the effective allocation of resources and services towards
nation-building.
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| Rep. Lord Allan Velasco |
The Marinduque lawmaker noted that under the Local
Government Code, the term of office of barangay officials and SK members should be for
three (3) years.
However, with the enactment of Republic Act No. 10952, the
synchronized Barangay and SK elections were moved to the second Monday of May
2018.
“Unwittingly, the elected barangay and SK officials in 2018
are now constrained to serve for only a two-year term in stark contrast to the
mandate given by the Local Government Code and to the detriment of project and program implementation that would benefit the Filipino people,” Velasco said.
The bill seeks to amend Republic Act No. 9164, as amended by
Republic Act No. 9340, Republic Act No. 10632, Republic Act 10656, Republic
Act No. 10923 and Republic Act No.10952.
