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Constitutional Law
Barangays are the smallest local government unit in the country with the
supervision of the municipalities or cities within their jurisdiction as prescribed
in our existing laws particularly on R.A. 7160, Article III. Inter-Local
Government Relations Section 32. – The city or municipality, through the city
or municipality mayor concerned, shall exercise general provision over
component barangay to ensure that said barangays act within the scope of their
prescribed powers and functions.
As stated in our existing law the role, responsibility and manner of creation for
the barangay were stated as follows:
“Sec. 384. Role of the Barangay. - As the basic political unit, the
Barangay serves as the primary planning and implementing unit of
government policies, plans, programs, projects, and activities in the
community, and as a forum wherein the collective views of the people
may be expressed, crystallized and considered, and where disputes may
be amicably settled.”
On October 18, 2016, or roughly two weeks before the elections, it was
confirmed that President signed into law a bill postponing the October 2016
barangay elections to October 2017. In addition, the subsequent election would
be on the second Monday of May 2020, and every three years thereafter.
Officials who were elected in 2013 shall continue to serve until 2017.
In October 2, 2017, the President signed into law a bill postponing again the
2017 barangay and SK election to May 2018.
Moreover, the derivation of principle of unity and interaction among the citizen
has been given freely to each and every one living in the country to choose
whose they seem to be feet in their group or area to represent them as their
voice to reach the level of the President.
Our right of suffrage was already affected if appointments will be push through.
It will greatly affect the relationship among local residences for the appointment
be considered as a selection of the barangay captain and sangguning kabataan.
The peaceful and harmonious relationship that they had been propagated
within their locality may disturb and will lead to chaos or misunderstanding,
no cooperation among members of the barangay and there would be no
participation, whatever the cities or municipalities want to implement that
seems to be of important into the locality. We cannot deny the fact that their
thinking towards the appointed barangay official may be in good or bad.
Pointing out some views that for the appointment to be fulfil there is a
corresponding list to be submitted to the President for him to choose which
among the list is capable of holding that position and giving the fact who will
be the one to provide such list, if it is from the side of the President then it
would favourably be the one to choose while on the other hand it might not be
considered. From that point, members of the group will start to quibble the
credibility of the appointed barangay official without any reservation. It will
start of a questioning mind that might resulted to unending arguments among
the group. It will also a deterrent to the community once the members will not
cooperate because of their uneasy feelings towards the appointed official. Later
the objective of having a small unit of government in the country will be ignore
and tainted with whatever motive might soon arise in the near future.
I would suggest in case that the president will continue to suspend the election
and impose his own position to appoint the barangay official instead, then he
should go for and amendments of our law for the process of electing the
government official not only the barangay but the whole government official to
be fair from all other positions in the government. The president will also
improve the way on assessing each government positions in the whole country
for just to assess if they are still on whatever motive he thinks like a drug related
activity by setting out plans for the period with which they render their services
publicly. He must improve also the transparency between and among
government positions including the citizens of the country in which they had a
locus standi on what happening in the country including the effects and
attributes of such action to be taken into consideration by an independent
report submitted by the evaluator. He must also stressed out the real
responsibility of each government officials in bringing out the objective and
targets of the country.
In a conclusion, instead of appointments that might soon be invoke with the
President’s desire and I think it might happen without any thought and to avoid
some negative circumstances that I previously mentioned in my discussion, we
need still let the citizen delegate the decision on what really they want to lead
them for us reach the real objective of electing a barangay official. And as a law
student by joining our hands through different views may act as one to call for
the implementation of local election and raise the issue not only the effect of
the issue but also the consequences of the situation for the next generation to
come.