House to hear ‘reset barangay, SK polls’ bills next week

Despite President Benigno Aquino III being inclined to push through with the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in October, the Lower House is set to hear next week proposals to reschedule the polls that will elect new sets of village officials and youth councils at the lowest level of government. Congress need not automatically adopt the pronouncements of the President, said Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga, chairman of the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms. “Under the Constitution, there is a separation of powers between the legislative and executive branch of the government and we assert our independence," he told GMANews.TV over the phone. However, Barzaga admitted that the President’s stand on the October polls “has a great weight as far as the legislative branch is concerned" especially since most of the House officials led by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte are members of Aquino’s Liberal Party. “It (Aquino’s stand) has a great weight but it does not mean that it will be the stand of the House," he said. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda told Palace reporters earlier on Wednesday that Aquino prefers the barangay-SK polls to push through in October because “we'd like to synchronize the elections in 2013." (See: Aquino wants barangay, SK polls in October, but....) Last Thursday, Belmonte announced he was pushing for a one-year postponement of the barangay and SK elections but would not impose a party position among lawmakers. He said he would allow each member of the House to decide on the bills calling for the polls’ postponement. The hearing, set for August 18, will invite officials from the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and Liga ng mga Barangay, among others, as resource speakers. Barzaga promised to fast-track the deliberation of the proposals, citing the urgent need to resolve the issue. At present, 17 bills have been filed seeking to reschedule the October polls. “We have to act on these bills immediately as we might lack the necessary time. Time is of the essence here," Barzaga said, noting that the election is supposed to be held October 25, just two months away.—Amita O. Legaspi/JV, GMANews.TV