4,400 barangay chiefs disqualified in October polls

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Tuesday reminded voters that 4,000 incumbent barangay chairmen are no longer allowed to run for the same post in the upcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections. Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said these local officials are currently on their third or even fourth term and are thus disqualified from vying for the same post. Section 2 of Republic Act 9164, or An Act Providing for the Synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, states that no barangay elective official may serve for more than three consecutive terms. Based on records from the DILG's National Barangay Operations Office (NBOO), there are 4,433 punong barangays (barangay chairmen and chairwomen) nationwide who are now on their third term and are thus no longer allowed to run for a fourth term. Calabarzon has the highest number of third termers with 499, followed by Western Visayas with 460. Eastern Visayas has 431; Bicol Region, 360; and Ilocos Region, 342. The DILG chief said his field officials will provide the Commission on Elections a list of these third-termers for the poll body's reference or appropriate actions. Curiously, DILG records also showed that there are even 23 cases of barangay heads now serving their fourth term, which is prohibited by RA 9164. Of the fourth termers, 14 came from the National Capital Region, particularly in Caloocan City; three came from Northern Mindanao Region; two each from the Cagayan Valley Region and Cordillera Administrative Region; and one each from MIMARAOPA Region and Davao Region. Robredo did not say whether the 14 fourth-termers are liable for any electoral offenses. The same RA 9164 provision also states that voluntary renunciation of office shall not be considered as an interruption in the continuity of service for the full term for which the elective official was elected. This means, in practice, that incumbent barangay officials who are serving their third terms cannot resign now and then run again for another term, on the claim that they did not complete their current stint. The term of office of incumbent barangay officials ends on November 30. "The figures for now are just for barangay chairmen. We are still coming up with the figures for kagawads and other local officials," DILG public information officer Julian Meneses told GMANews.TV over the phone. For easier public access, Robredo said the names of these officials would be posted on the DILG website, as well as on the websites of the agency's regional offices. “We will make full use of our DILG website to disclose to and inform the general public, most especially the barangay electorate, on who among the current crop of barangay officials are no longer eligible to run as they have already reached the term limit imposed by law," he said in a statement. Apart from using the website to post names of disqualified local officials, the DILG under Robredo has recently used the website to promote transparency in local governments, which have earlier been ordered to submit all their transaction reports for posting on their regional websites. (See: Robredo to LGUs: Post transaction reports in public places) In the October 25 grassroots elections, voters will select one barangay chairman, one SK chairman, seven Sangguniang Barangay members, and seven SK members. Around 672,400 elective posts in 42,025 barangays are expected to be filled in after the local polls. The filing of certificates of candidacy started Friday last week and will go on until October 13.—JV, GMANews.TV