House to conduct inquiry on delays in barangay, SK polls

Published October 27, 2010 4:44pm

The House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms will conduct on November 9 an inquiry about the delays in the conduct of elections in some barangays in the country. Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga said House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte gave the green light to conduct the hearing on Tuesday. He said the committee will also air its side amid the statements of some Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials that the hearing of bills on the postponement of the October 25 elections delayed their preparations. â€œWe would like to take that opportunity to clarify ourselves after hearing from Comelec that the indecisiveness of the Congress delayed the preparations," he told GMANews.TV over the phone. On Tuesday, Commissioner Armando Velasco said the printing of the ballots and the bidding for other election paraphernalia were put on hold after bills seeking to postpone the polls were filed before both chambers of Congress. Zambales Rep. Ma Milagros Magsaysay and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said Comelec should not point fingers and instead take responsibility for the glitches. â€œThey said that it was all systems go when they were asked three months ago, so the blame is entirely theirs," said Magsaysay. The House committee intends to tackle the following issues:

delays in the opening of the polls;

postponement of the polls in some barangays;

the supposed outdated equipment of the National Printing Office (NPO);

the accusations that a Comelec personnel attempted to sabotage the delivery of the election paraphernalia, and

the "multiple termers" or barangay officials who have served for three terms but still run for the same post. â€œWe have to address these problems as early as now in preparation to the elections in 2013. We have to act immediately," Barzaga said. He promised that the inquiry will be comprehensive and holistic. Among those requested to attend the hearing were:

the poll commissioners;

Comelec legal department head Ferdinand Rafanan;

Comelec Bids and Awards Committee, and

NPO officials. Barzaga also wanted Comelec chairman Jose Armando Melo and Interior and Local Government Secretary Jessie Robredo to explain why they failed to disqualify from the very start and accord due process to the so-called â€œmultiple termers". He was disappointed with the last-minute resolution of the Comelec ordering all poll officers nationwide not to proclaim the winning candidates included in the list of multiple termers released by the DILG. Some 4,433 barangay captains reportedly ran in the village elections despite being "multiple-termers." â€“VVP, GMANews.TV

Tags: congress, comelec, barangay, sangguniangkabataan