Caritas opposes deferment of barangay, SK polls

MANILA, Philippines — Caritas Philippines yesterday expressed strong opposition to the proposed deferment of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections scheduled on Dec. 5.

In a statement, Caritas Philippines national director Kidapawan Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo joined others in pushing for the two elections.

Bagaforo said postponing the barangay and SK elections a second time “reflects how our national political leaders undermine the importance of barangay level politics in the exercise of our democratic rights.”

“It is not right for the government to suppress electoral processes, especially that the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections are seen as the most accessible and organic form of citizen’s engagement in public service and governance,” he added.

The last barangay and SK polls were held on May 14, 2018. In 2020, these were postponed to 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The continuing COVID-19 situation is being cited as the same reason for the present calls to push back the elections to a later date, with some suggesting 2024.

Incoming congressmen are reportedly saying that the P8 billion that would be saved by postponing the polls could be used by the government in its ongoing response to the pandemic.

But Caritas Philippines executive secretary Fr. Tony Labiao believed that COVID-19 should not be used as an excuse for deferral since government funds have been allocated to stop the spread of the virus.

“Different government agencies still allocated funds for the ongoing COVID-19 response. And we know how even the Department of Health was not able to fully expend its budget last year. Thus, like in any other organization, our government needs to step up its game to ensure good planning and better execution, and not to use this as a lame excuse to postpone the December elections,” Labiao added.